Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018): Bi Gan's New Film Is Visually Dazzling, Technically Accomplished and Emotionally A Transportive Cinematic Experience
Bi Gan's new film Long Day's Journey Into Night is wonderful follow-up to his knockout debut 'Kaili Blues'. The film is grandeur of achievement in technical aspects but technique never overwhelms the feeling. This is most immersive cinematic experience at the movies for me. I've never experienced anything like this before. Long Day's Journey Into Night tells the solitary life of Lu Hongwu (Huang Jue), who is haunted by lost-love and regret. He embarks on a journey of finding his lost love where his past and present merged in a dream. In the first hour of the film, we explores the journey of the protagonist in a neon-soaked world, in two timelines switching between present and past. The atmosphere in Kaili is dense with neon lights, raindrops and smoke. Throughout the film, the aesthetics - the location, colours, lights plays the important role in mood of the film. Seventy minutes in, we get a cue from protagonist saying put 3D glasses on and