Review by Thom Ernst – Film Correspondent
(June , 2024 – Toronto,ON) It’s been seven years since Israeli director Savi Gabizon released the critically acclaimed film Longing (2017). Originally presented in Hebrew and French, Longing excelled on the film festival circuit, being nominated for countless awards, and winning three, culminating with a BNL People’s Choice Award at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
Such success, I imagine, can be a tough act to follow.
Now, seven years later, Gabizon has found his tougher act: An English version of “Longing”. A seven-year lag between film projects is not unheard of, particularly for independent filmmakers using source material. Neither is it unusual for a director to remake their film for a North American audience. Director Michael Haneke repurposed his “Funny Games”(1997) into a shot-for-shot 2007 remake—ten years but with four other movies made between.
I am not privy to the process that led to Gabizon remaking Longing as an English-speaking film; I don’t imagine such information would be too hard to find online. Perhaps Gabizon thought if Longing succeeded in its original Hebrew and French presentation, imagine opening the film to a North American audience. Or maybe Gabizon is playing it safe, unwilling to risk disrupting the reputation gained on the strength of his last picture
I’ve not seen Longing recently so cannot accurately determine how the first and second film compare: same story, same writer, same director…but different cast and language.
Richard Gere—everyone’s favourite American Gigolo—takes over as (Daniel) Bloch from Shai Avivi, who starred in the original as Ariel Bloch, a man who discovers too late that he is a father.
It’s during a rushed lunch meeting with Rachel, an ex-lover (Suzanne Clément) who seems to still harbour resentment towards him, that Daniel discovers not only has he been an absentee father for the past 20 years, but that the young man—Daniel’s son—recently died in a car accident.
Bloch, a dedicated bachelor moving towards his twilight years (but this is still Richard Gere, so while the ravages of age dial down the pretty, it also turns up the rugged), begins a quest to learn about his son’s life. He discovers a gregarious, music-loving prodigy and shows signs of an annoying stalking habit.
But what kid is perfect? And now Daniel, who had no invested role in his son’s life, feels pride when hearing of his son’s achievements and becomes defensive when people speak poorly of him.
Longing plays like a gentle mystery—perfect for a rainy, cozy afternoon being guided from one revelation to another, uncovering the story of a young man who, in his short life, experiences great triumphs and disappointments.
Gere sustains a powerful performance throughout which, ironically, is more reminiscent of his role in the harshly criticized Intersection (1994) than in roles from better-received films. The connection between the recent release of Longing with Intersection is not in similarities of story and style (although I like Intersection) but in the underlying investigative aspect that turns a human story into a mystery: Who is this young man, now gone? Who was this musical prodigy who was either a great poet or a vandal with an inappropriate message?
Diane Kruger is Alice an English teacher, and the recipient of the boy’s unwanted affections. But were the affections unwanted?
Longing tracks the story of a man’s growth through his efforts to discover who his son was and how his own life might have been had he chosen to be a father.
Gabizon focuses on Daniel while untangling complications arising from the boy’s mother, Rachel, his stepfather, and his romantic obsession. However, Longing is also a story about a life told from a specific perspective, affected by grief – exploring who gets to grieve and how.
Longing is a small, affective drama. You can watch Gere and Kruger duke it out in English, or, if you can handle the subtitles, you can always check out the original Longing. I doubt director Savi Gabizon will mind; he made them both.
Thom Ernst is a Toronto based film critic and writer and an active member of the (TFCA) Toronto Film Critics’ Association. His work has appeared in various publications including Playback Magazine, The Toronto Star, and The National Post. He is known to CBC Radio listeners for his lively contributions to Fresh Air, Metro Morning, and CBC Syndication as well as appearing on-air for CTV News Channel and The Agenda with Steve Paikin. He was host, interviewer and producer of televisions’ longest running movie program Saturday Night at the Movies. Currently he can be heard interviewing Canadian filmmakers on the Kingston Canadian Film Festival podcast, Rewind, Fast-Forward.
