Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Bi Gan's ‘destroyed film noir' is a dazzling dive into an immersive dreamscape.
Director: Bi Gan
Overview
A simple plot synopsis – a man returns to his hometown in search of the woman who got away – does little to prepare audiences for this experience. While there are certainly narrative threads and characters to follow, the pleasures of Long Day’s Journey into Night are to be found in relinquishing the storytelling and submitting to its immersive qualities. As our hero journeys through his quest, the film explores the elusive (and illusive) nature of memories, crescendoing in a 55-minute single take, shot entirely in 3D (but presented in 2D here).
Influenced by the paintings of Chagall and described by writer-director Bi Gan as a ‘destroyed film noir’, his follow-up to Kaili Blues is bold, stylish cinema that you’ll want to live inside.
Related
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.
The Outrun The Outrun
Drama 2024 118 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Saoirse Ronan gives a bracing performance as a young recovering alcoholic returning home to Orkney in this moving adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir.
Birdy Birdy
Drama 1984 120 mins Director: Alan Parker
Alan Parker’s elliptical, ethereal adaptation of the acclaimed, ‘unfilmable’ novel by William Wharton, about a boy who dreams of flying.
The Florida Project The Florida Project
Drama 2017 112 mins Director: Sean Baker
Anora director Sean Baker's visionary portrait of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.
The Streetwalker The Streetwalker
Drama 1976 86 mins Director: Walerian Borowczyk
A salesman becomes obsessed by an icy prostitute against the backdrop of a hellish Paris, in this arthouse erotica from Walerian Borowczyk (The Beast)
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
Drama 2019 140 mins Director: Karim Aïnouz
A moving, sumptuous tale of two sisters cruelly separated by family and fate in 1950s Rio.
The Passenger The Passenger
Drama 1974 126 mins Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Jack Nicholson is at his best in Michelangelo Antonioni’s tale of a burnt-out political correspondent swapping identities with a dead man.
A Bullet for the General A Bullet for the General
Western 1966 105 mins Director: Damiano Damiani
At the height of the Mexican Revolution, a mysterious gringo infiltrates a gang of bandits in Damiano Damiani’s radical Western.
To Sleep with Anger To Sleep with Anger
Comedy 1990 102 mins Director: Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett's brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.
La Piscine La Piscine
Drama 1969 123 mins Director: Jacques Deray
A ménage à trois stirs passion and jealousy beside a secluded pool in this sultry, French cult-thriller.
Manhunter Manhunter
Crime 1986 124 mins Director: Michael Mann
Michael Mann’s chilling and stylish adaptation of Thomas Harris’ bestseller introduced Hannibal Lecktor to cinema audiences for the first time.
El Mariachi El Mariachi
Crime 1992 82 mins Director: Robert Rodriguez
A travelling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal, in Robert Rodriguez’s infamous ‘no budget’ exemplar of DIY action cinema.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.
Showgirls Showgirls
Melodrama 1995 126 mins Director: Paul Verhoeven
Reviled upon its release, now reclaimed as a cult classic - one can only submit to the trash-tastic delights of Paul Verhoeven's erotic disasterpiece.
The Outrun The Outrun
Drama 2024 118 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Saoirse Ronan gives a bracing performance as a young recovering alcoholic returning home to Orkney in this moving adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir.
Birdy Birdy
Drama 1984 120 mins Director: Alan Parker
Alan Parker’s elliptical, ethereal adaptation of the acclaimed, ‘unfilmable’ novel by William Wharton, about a boy who dreams of flying.
The Florida Project The Florida Project
Drama 2017 112 mins Director: Sean Baker
Anora director Sean Baker's visionary portrait of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.
The Streetwalker The Streetwalker
Drama 1976 86 mins Director: Walerian Borowczyk
A salesman becomes obsessed by an icy prostitute against the backdrop of a hellish Paris, in this arthouse erotica from Walerian Borowczyk (The Beast)