Long Day's Journey into Night (2018 film)

Long Day's Journey into Night[lower-alpha 1] is a 2018 drama film directed by Bi Gan. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.[1][3][4] Despite the film's English-language title, it is unrelated to the 1956 Eugene O'Neill play of the same name.[5] It is notable for its final 59 minutes, which consists of one unbroken long take in 3D.[6]

Long Day's Journey into Night[lower-alpha 1]
Film poster, based upon the painting The Promenade by Marc Chagall
Chinese地球最後的夜晚
Directed byBi Gan
Produced byShan Zuolong
Written byBi Gan
StarringTang Wei
Huang Jue
Music by
  • Lim Giong
  • Hsu Point
Cinematography
  • Yao Hung-i
  • Dong Jinsong
  • David Chizallet
Edited byQin Yanan
Production
companies
  • Zhejiang Huace Film & TV
  • Dangmai Films
  • Huace Pictures
Distributed byBAC Films (France)
Release date
  • 15 May 2018 (2018-05-15) (Cannes)
  • 31 December 2018 (2018-12-31) (China)
  • 30 January 2019 (2019-01-30) (France)
Running time
138 minutes
Country
  • China
  • France[1]
LanguageMandarin
Box office$42.1 million[2]

Plot

The film chronicles the return of Luo Hongwu (Huang Jue) to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled many years before. Back for his father's funeral, Luo recalls the death of an old friend, Wildcat, and searches for lost love Wan Qiwen (Tang Wei), who continues to haunt him.

Cast

Production

Director Bi Gan enlisted novelist Chang Ta-Chun as a consultant for the script, noting that Ta-Chun aided in the overall film structure as well as the division of the film into two parts. Of the two parts, Bi noted that "the title of the first part is Memory; that of the second is Poppy, in reference to Paul Celan’s poem Poppy and Memory. At some point, I even considered using this as the film’s title."[7]

Bi stated that "I liked the idea that the first half would be in 2D, because I wanted it to feel as fragmented as time, with little bits of memory... With the second half, I wanted it to be real-time, and the 3D was the best way to create a spatial experience for that." The 59-minute unbroken long take 3D sequence that closes the film took two months to prepare, as techniques had to be devised to move a RED camera through the complicated environment of the scene. It took seven attempts at shooting the sequence before Bi was satisfied.[8] The sequence was shot in 2D and converted to 3D in post-production because a 2D camera was lighter and therefore easier to move in difficult positions and small environments.[9]

In reference to the use of 2D and 3D, Bi said:

It’s a film about memory. After the first part (in 2D), I wanted the film to take on a different texture. In fact, for me, 3D is simply a texture. Like a mirror that turns our memories into tactile sensations. It’s just a three-dimensional representation of space. But I believe this three-dimensional feeling recalls that of our recollections of the past. Much more than 2D, anyway. 3D images are fake but they resemble our memories much more closely.[7]

The film is notable for utilizing three cinematographers - Yao Hung-I, Dong Jinsong, and David Chizallet. Their individual roles were broken down by Gan, who stated that "Yao Hung-I began shooting the first part. We worked together for several months and then he went back to Taiwan. Dong Jinsong then took over for half of the part in 2D and the preparation of the final sequence shot that David Chizallet eventually shot. Chizallet also shot one scene of the part in 2D.[7]"

Bi stated that he had difficulty choosing a title for the film, noting that the official international title is "Long Day's Journey into Night," a title inspired by the play of the same name by Eugene O'Neil, whereas the direct Chinese translation is "Last Evenings on Earth," which refers to a short story written by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. Regarding the two titles, Bi noted that he wanted to choose titles that "matched with the film's spirit" and that he ultimately chose them because they related to two works of literature he admired.[7]

Bi drew inspiration for the film from the paintings of Marc Chagall, specifically The Promenade, as well as the novels of Patrick Modiano.[7]

Reception

Box office

Despite its unusual story structure, the film was marketed and distributed in China as a romantic event film, and an ideal date movie for its New Year's Eve release. It also received a wide theatrical release. The strategy worked; by 25 December, the film had already sold 100 million yuan ($15 million US dollars) in presales tickets.[10] Despite its strong presales, it faded quickly from the box-office charts, having grossed $41 million US during its initial three weeks (most of it from its 31 December premier).[5]

In China, its massive early box office success led to a backlash; the hashtag “can’t understand Long Day’s Journey Into Night” trended on social media, and users of the ticketing platform Maoyan drove its aggregate user rating down.[5]

Critical response

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating based on 91 reviews, with an average score of 8.00/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Long Day's Journey Into Night may flummox viewers looking for an easy-to-follow story, but writer-director Gan Bi's strong visual command and technical risk-taking pay off."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 88 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[12] The film's final 3D sequence, in particular, drew substantial praise at its 2018 Cannes Film Festival debut.[6]

Many critics praised the final, hour-long dream sequence which was filmed in one continuous take. In his 4/4 star review for The Boston Globe, critic Ty Burr compared the sequence to his own dreams, noting that they are often "unsettling, unstoppable, and yet there’s often a logic within their illogic. This is precisely what Bi has re-created in the final hour of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” a fluid and outrageously extended camera shot that, as with dreams, doesn’t need editing to cast its spell."[13] Peter Bradshaw lauded the dream sequence as "a kind of slo-mo exhilaration"[14] in his 5/5 star review for The Guardian. He proceeded to reflect on how the unbroken dream sequence allows the viewer to think about memories not as simple, disconnected flashbacks, but rather as complex, subliminal flashes which lack any significant substance until one is created for them. When viewed in this light, he states that "memory becomes a creative act, a developmental fleshing-out of a fleeting glimpse or feeling."

Awards and nominations
Award Category Recipients Result
55th Golden Horse Awards[15]Best Feature FilmLong Day's Journey into NightNominated
Best DirectorBi GanNominated
Best CinematographyYao Hung-i, Dong Jinsong and David ChizalletWon
Best Original Film ScoreLim Giong and Point HsuWon
Best Sound EffectsLi Danfeng and Si ZhonglinWon

Notes
  1. simplified Chinese: 地球最后的夜晚; traditional Chinese: 地球最後的夜晚; pinyin: Di qiu zui hou de ye wang; French: Un grand voyage vers la nuit

References
  1. "The 2018 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  2. "Di Qiu Zui Hou De Ye Wang (2018)". The Numbers. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "Cannes Lineup Includes New Films From Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  4. 李子凡、張哲鳴、陳穎、陳薇安 (12 April 2018). "【坎城影展】賈樟柯5度競逐 張艾嘉《最後夜晚》入「注目」" (in Chinese). 蘋果日報. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. Sims, David (11 April 2019). "The Mind-Boggling Art-House Film That Broke China's Box Office". theatlantic.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. Wilkinson, Alissa (19 April 2019). "Long Day's Journey Into Night". vox.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019. It premiered at Cannes in 2018 and drew astounded raves for the nearly hour-long 3D single-shot sequence that makes up the film’s second half.
  7. Muyan, Wang. "Interview with Director Bi Gan". wildbunch.biz. Wild Bunch. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. Kohn, Eric (2 October 2018). "'Long Day's Journey Into Night' Director Had to Film His 59-Minute 3D Long Take Seven Times to Get It Just Right". indiewire.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  9. Buder, Emily (16 May 2019). "About That Insane, Hour-Long, Single-Take, 3D Sequence in 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'". No Film School. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. Sharf, Zack (26 December 2019). "Bi Gan's Art House Film 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' Wows China With Blockbuster-Level Box Office". indiewire.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019. “Long Day’s Journey” has already earned 100 million yuan (equivalent to $15 million) in presale tickets with six days left before release...
  11. "Long Day's Journey Into Night (Di qiu zui hou de ya wan) (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes (Fandango Media). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  12. "Long Day's Journey Into Night Reviews". Metacritic (CBS Interactive). Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  13. Burr, Ty. "'Long Day's Journey Into Night,' from China's Bi Gan, is mind-blowing masterpiece". bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. Bradshaw, Peter. "Long Day's Journey Into Night review – an exhilarating slo-mo hallucination". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  15. ""Shadow" leads the Golden Horse nominations". The Film Experience. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
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