Almost half of Chinese director Bi Gan's new arthouse feature film A Long Day's Journey into Night is composed of a single shot. Stretched out so long and through so many different settings, it starts to feel like a dream.
And maybe it is; we're not so sure. Up until the 50-minute sequence begins, the movie's protagonist Luo Hongwu has been wandering through his southwest China hometown of Kaili looking for a former lover and for answers about his father's death. It's a detective story, but only in the loosest sense. Characters come and go, promising leads become dead ends. Before long, it feels like the people on screen know more than you do. And you're right, they probably do.
But as narrative detours take Luo through back alley after back alley, they're all so hauntingly pretty, drenched in neon and rainwater, it becomes a pleasure just to follow him around.
After raking in plenty of yuan at Chinese box offices earlier this year, the film kicks off a weeklong run in Dallas this Friday, May 10, at the Magnolia Theatre. It runs 110 minutes and includes subtitles in case your Mandarin is a little rusty.
