Long Day's Journey into Night
Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled many years ago. He begins the search for the woman he loved and whom he has never been able to forget.
Despite its modest budget of $13.0M, Long Day's Journey into Night became a financial success, earning $42.1M worldwide—a 224% return. The film's innovative storytelling attracted moviegoers, proving that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Long Day's Journey into Night (2018) reveals deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Bi Gan's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 14-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 18 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.6, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili for his father's funeral, establishing his disconnected, melancholic present state as a solitary man haunted by the past.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 16 minutes when Luo finds a photograph and discovers Wan Qiwen may still be alive, disrupting his resigned acceptance of loss and igniting an obsessive search through memory and reality.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 35 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Luo encounters the boy who may be connected to Wan Qiwen and decides to follow the trail deeper into the past, committing to the search despite knowing it may lead nowhere., moving from reaction to action.
The Collapse moment at 104 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, In the dream-Kaili, Luo finds a woman who resembles Wan Qiwen playing table tennis. He realizes even in his dreams he cannot truly recapture her - memory itself is death of the living moment., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 112 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Luo accepts the dream for what it is - not a path to the real Wan Qiwen, but a necessary ritual of letting go. He understands that memory is not resurrection., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Long Day's Journey into Night's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 14 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Long Day's Journey into Night against these established plot points, we can identify how Bi Gan utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Long Day's Journey into Night within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili for his father's funeral, establishing his disconnected, melancholic present state as a solitary man haunted by the past.
Theme
A character mentions "Memory is like a house with many rooms," introducing the film's exploration of memory, time, and the impossibility of recapturing the past.
Worldbuilding
Fragmented memories establish Luo's past: his relationship with Wan Qiwen, his involvement with gangster Zuo Hongyuan, the mysterious woman who disappeared. The decaying city of Kaili mirrors his emotional landscape.
Disruption
Luo finds a photograph and discovers Wan Qiwen may still be alive, disrupting his resigned acceptance of loss and igniting an obsessive search through memory and reality.
Resistance
Luo wanders through Kaili interrogating old acquaintances, visiting locations from his past. He debates whether to pursue this ghost or accept that the past is irretrievable. The city becomes a labyrinth of memory.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Luo encounters the boy who may be connected to Wan Qiwen and decides to follow the trail deeper into the past, committing to the search despite knowing it may lead nowhere.
Mirror World
The wild woman he encounters serves as a thematic mirror - another person lost in time, unable to distinguish past from present, embodying the dangers of obsessive memory.
Premise
Luo's investigation continues through a dreamlike Kaili. The film delivers on its premise: a hypnotic meditation on memory where past and present blur, reality and dream merge.
Opposition
The 59-minute continuous 3D take: Luo descends into a surreal underground world (literal and metaphorical descent). He encounters dream versions of people from his past. Time loses all meaning. Reality opposes his desire for reunion.
Collapse
In the dream-Kaili, Luo finds a woman who resembles Wan Qiwen playing table tennis. He realizes even in his dreams he cannot truly recapture her - memory itself is death of the living moment.
Crisis
The dream continues but with increasing melancholy. Luo and the dream-woman fly through the air (via cable car), a moment of beauty tinged with the knowledge that it's ephemeral, unreal.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Luo accepts the dream for what it is - not a path to the real Wan Qiwen, but a necessary ritual of letting go. He understands that memory is not resurrection.
Synthesis
The dream sequence concludes with quiet resignation. Luo and the woman share a final spinning dance, a bee appears, time loops. The film synthesizes waking and dreaming, past and present into acceptance.
Transformation
Luo appears to wake or return to reality, transformed not through reunion but through acceptance of loss. The closing image mirrors the opening but shows a man who has completed his mourning ritual.