Long Day's Journey Into Night

Dubbed as China's biggest arthouse hit of all time, Bi Gan's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" was a critical darling when it released stateside. From the opening shot, you can see clearly why. On an aesthetic level, the film is breathlessly realized and sports an hour-long 3D one-take sequence that truly must be seen to be believed. But even technical showmanship aside, this is a stunning film about how every person is missing something crucial, whether it be emotional or physical. But if that thing were to suddenly arrive, would your life be made better because of it? Or, is it the pursuit of that one thing that makes life worth living?

Hongwu Luo (Jue Huang) is a drifter living in the city of Kaili who decides to set out and find the woman (Wei Tang) who left his life. Without even knowing her name, his travels bring him to a myriad of locations he once occupied. Each location gives him a new memory, but the film slips between timelines so quickly that the audience doesn't know for sure what's happening in the present. Then, the one-take sequence takes the viewer within how Luo envisions the present in his own mind.

This recollection of the past and how it informs the present is what gives "Long Day's Journey Into Night" so much internal life. Every action Luo makes has an equal opposite reaction, no matter how small. What may seem like a filmmaker staying at a cold distance from his main character at first becomes something vivid and emotional once the long take enters the fold. The film could be taken many ways, as art at its core is subjective, but it stuck out to me that the story is obsessed with the difference between reality and the reality we conjure up mentally.

In the booklet interview with Bi Gan included on this new Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber, the director says he wanted to make something spiritual and metaphysical with his location shooting in Guizhou. That comment kind of speaks to what he's trying to do narratively, too. The film is also dedicated to showing how people, places and things all withhold an eternity of memory. Even that huge objective doesn't take away from the central journey and its many emotional implications.

The audio and video presentations of "Long Day's Journey Into Night" are both stellar on the new Blu-ray, and this release also comes stacked with special features that continue to open up the film in ways I didn't imagine was possible. Not only do I highly recommend picking this up at your earliest convenience, I'd rush to watch the film as soon as possible. Other special features include:

� Interview with director Bi Gan
� Interview with star Huang Jue
� Making-of documentary
� Booklet interview with Bi Gan by writer Aaron Stewart-Ahn
� Theatrical trailer

"Long Day's Journey Into Night"
3D Blu-ray & Blu-ray
$34.95
https://www.kinolorber.com/product/long-days-journey-into-night-blu-ray