thecourseofherlifeupto this point, but subtly, equivo-
cally,choosesnotto.
CitiesofLastThings, withitsmoreobviousarchetypes
andthrillerishplotline,usesa strikingformalconceitto
directitsquestionsaroundtimeandmemorymorestrongly
towardstheaudiencethantowardsthecharacterswhoare,
in longstandingnoirtradition,trappedin theirfateslikein-
sects in amber.Dividedinto three segments,the film moves
forwardsasitsnarrativeyearshopbackwards.Initially,in a
dystopiannear-futureTaipeiofdriverlessbusesandstate-
run suicide-clean-upsquads,disillusionedex-copZhang
(a grizzledJackKao)is hell-bentona shadymissionof
revengeinvolvinghisunfaithfulwifewhenheis distracted
bya facefromthepast.In themiddlesection,a younger
Zhang(Lee Hong-Chi– who, coincidentally,also plays the
deadfriendinLongDay’sJourney) is atthetippingpoint
betweenidealismandcynicismwhenheencountersthe
beautifulAra(LouiseGrinberg)andspendsa delirious
nightwithher,dreamingofescapefromthecityevenwhile
they’reswaddledin itssticky,syntheticembrace.And,in
the last/earliestsection,a younger-stillZhang(Xie Zhang-
Yin) is waitingin a policestation,wherehe meetsa lady
gangster(a blazingDingNing) who turns out to be every-
thingandnothingtohim.
Toldforwards,thestorytracksa grimtrajectory.But
toldbackwards,witheachsectionprogressivelylaterin the
night,pivotingaroundthemidnight-setmidpointandthe
palindromicAra, cinematictime gazumpsnarrativetime: the
interveningyearsseemtodisappearandthethreenights
elideintoone.Soalthough,rationally,weknowwhatwill
becomeof the youngZhangbecausewe’ve alreadyseen it,
thecinematicsensationis ofopenness,youthfuluncertainty,
a futureunwrittenin thelasthoursbeforea newdawn.Like
the eternallyburningfireworkofLongDay’sJourney, orthe
tick-tockof the taxi’s blinkersinWinter’sNight, theending
ofCitiesofLastThingsmakesa defiantlyhopeful,ongoing,
danglingpresenttenseoutofa long-gonepast.
In aneditionoftheFilmCommentpodcastfromCannes
last year, Americancritic Amy Taubinexpresseda deep
frustrationwith Bi’s film for its apoliticalnature,^9 a critique
that could certainlyextendtoWinter’sNightandCitiesof
LastThings, whicharesimilarlylackingin anyman-the-
rampartsagenda.Yet, taken as a loose triptych,these films
fromdifferentcountries,madebydirectorsatdifferent
stagesoftheircareerswhodisplaylittlein commonin their
prior filmographies,do providea markedlychoralartistic
responsetothekeyregionalsociopoliticalissueofthe
teethingyearsoftheso-calledAsianCentury.TheAsian
story at the beginningof the twenty-firstcenturyis defined
by the conflictbetweentradition– ancestorworship;home-
townloyalty;anacceptancethatthelonglineageofthe
familyunittakesprecedenceoveranyoneofitsindividual
members’current,fleetingdesires– and the unstoppable
marchofmodernity,fuelledbyChina’smushroom-cloud
economicexpansion.Perhapsit is the very violenceand
pervasivenessof the ceaselessideologicalcollisionbe-
tweena stately,reveredpastandanurgent,greedyfuture
that has made it an artistic necessity to create a buffer
spacein betweenthosewarringimpulses,especiallywhen
more overt worksof social-realistcommentary,exempli-
fied by the internationallycelebratedfilms of Jia Zhang-Ke,
alreadycomprisea movementoftheirown.
AndsowegetLongDay’sJourneyintoNight,Cities
of Last ThingsandWinter’sNight, whichimaginea kindof
psychologicalcaesura,a luxuriantextendedmomentof
contemplation– sometimesrueful,sometimesplayful,but
outside(orcarvedoutlikea grottodeepwithin)therelent-
lessonrushoftime.Andnottobetoofanciful,butslipping
thenooseoftimefora spelldoesconnectustopastand
futuregenerationsin a waya moretopicalapproachwould
not.Howevernoisytheworldhasbeen,andhowevermuch
noisierit will get, there will alwaysbe someone– a poet of
some sort, perhaps– lookingblearilyup at the moon from
a quiet bed and thinking of home.JessicaKiangisVariety’s Europe-basedinternationalcritic,
andalsofreelancesforThePlaylist,Sight & Sound andBBC
Culture, among other outlets. mEndnotes(^1) Li Bai,‘QuietNightThoughts’,inLi PoandTuFu, trans. Arthur
Cooper,Penguin,London,1973,p. 109.
(^2) It is stilltaughtto Chineseschoolchildrentoday;see‘LiBai
andHisPoetry’,Followcn, 11 February2017,https://
culture.followcn.com/2017/02/11/li-bai-poetry/, accessed
20 May 2019.
(^3) Alsoknownin theWestas‘LiPo’;see‘LiBai’,Sacrifice
officialwebsite,http://sacrificeworldwide.com/li-bai/,
accessed 28 May 2019.
(^4) ibid.
(^5) See RebeccaDavis,‘ChineseArt MovieLongDay’s
JourneyEnjoysBig Openingamid GrowingBacklash’,
Variety, 2 January2019,https://variety.com/2019/film/
news/long-days-journey-into-night-bi-gan-tang-wei-box
-office-1203097415/, accessed20 May 2019.
(^6) See, for example,ShellyKraicer,‘Cities of Last Things
(Ho Wi Ding, Taiwan/China/US/France)– Platform’,Cinema
Scope, 2018,http://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope
-online/cities-of-last-things-ho-wi-ding-taiwan-china-us
-france-platform/; and DilaraElbir, ‘NYFF’18 Review:
Long Day’s Journeyinto Night’,Much Ado AboutCinema,
12 October2018,https://muchadoaboutcinema.com/
2018/10/12/nyff-2018-review-long-days-journey-into-night/,
both accessed3 June 2019.
(^7) See JordanCronk,‘Overnightto DistantCities’,Film Comment,
March–April2019,https://www.filmcomment.com/article/
overnight-to-distant-cities/, accessed20 May 2019.
(^8) For an accessibleprimeron this topic,see Mark Le Fanu,
‘Metaphysicsof the“LongTake”:SomePost-Bazinian
Reflections’,p.o.v., no. 4, December1997,https://pov.imv.
au.dk/Issue_04/section_1/artc1A.html, accessed 20 May
2019.
(^9) See Amy Taubin,in ‘The Film CommentPodcast: Cannes
DayEight’,Film Comment, 16 May 2018,https://www.
filmcomment.com/blog/film-comment-podcast-cannes-day
-eight/, accessed 20 May 2019.
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