THE LONG DAY CLOSES Movie Review

A companion/sequel to his brilliant Distant Voices, Still Lives, Terence Davies's poetic and hauntingly lyrical The Long Day Closes is an autobiographical portrait set in the 1950s of an impressionable 11-year-old, whose obsession with movies is a way of escaping from the still-painful wounds of an abusive childhood. The palatial Liverpool movie house where Bud spends as much of his time as possible is lovingly and eloquently filmed by Davies as a cathedral of dreams, hopes, and possibilities, and the choir we hear on the soundtrack overflows with melodies from Nat King Cole's “Stardust” to “The Carousel Waltz” to—as the accompaniment to a breathtakingly moving montage of gently gliding, overhead images—Debbie Reynolds's “Tammy.” There's a narrative structure within The Long Day Closes, but the movie's power is a result of Davies's freedom to create a true work of cinematic poetry that seems to spring directly from his unconscious. (It's the perfect antidote to the saccharine tidiness of Cinema Paradiso.) Considerably less bitter than Distant Voices but no less potent, this is a unique work of art that richly rewards the adventurous filmgoer. It can stand on its own, but is an especially powerful experience after viewing Distant Voices, Still Lives. The stunning color cinematography is by Michael Coulter (Four Weddings and a Funeral.)

NEXT STOP … Distant Voices, Still Lives, Dreamchild, Léolo

1992 (PG) 84m/C GB Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson, Ayse Owens; D: Terence Davies; W: Terence Davies; C: Michael Coulter. VHS, Closed Caption COL