The Long Walk, 2019
An older man (Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy) is followed by the silent ghost of a young woman (Noutnapha Soydara) who he found dying in his childhood. When the man is hired by a young woman to contact the spirit of her dead mother, we follow his interactions with her as well as seeing flashbacks to the man’s experiences as a child (Por Silatsa).
With plenty of atmosphere and an appealing, time-bending mystery, this supernatural thriller is well worth a watch.
When films include time travel, or other time-bending elements, there’s often a danger of falling into one of two traps. The first trap is spending way too much time and attention on the mechanics of the time travel. The other, opposite trap is leaving the “rules” so vague that it becomes overly confusing trying to keep track of what is happening and why.
I think that this film leans a bit toward the latter problem. Honestly, I was very confused at many points during the film, and I can see someone who is a more literal, logical thinker getting frustrated. But while normally I AM that person who wants it all to make sense, this movie gets around that problem by pushing clear themes and building an aura of tension in a way that puts the emphasis of the story on the logic of the characters’ emotions, not the literal events that happen to them.
Movies like this are hard to review, because every 15-20 minutes something will happen that will totally reframe your understanding of the characters and their circumstances. A lot of the enjoyment of this film is letting those new understandings wash over you with all of their implications.
What I think I can safely say in a spoiler-free way is that I really loved the way that the film portrayed that people can have both benevolent and selfish impulses, and that sometimes those impulses are intertwined in a way that can be uncomfortable to think about. It also examines the way that our past experiences can inform our future actions, using its time-bending elements to put a different spin on that concept.
The film is generally somewhat melancholy in tone, but I think that it has things to say about optimism, kindness, and empathy. The character of the ghost---a character almost entirely without dialogue--gives a great inkblot dynamic to the scenes with both the older and younger incarnation of the main character. Is she grateful? Angry? Resigned? Understanding her point of view is key to unlocking the meaning of the film, but she remains an enigma as we watch the main character try to make the best of his situation, whether that’s a child dealing with an abusive parent or a older man dealing with long-standing social isolation.
There were times that I was frustrated with this film, even rewinding scenes to see if there was dialogue I’d missed that would help me resolve my confusion. But once I adjusted my focus to the characters and away from the time-travel mechanics, I eased into the film and ended up really enjoying it. I am still a bit bothered by two plot points I simply do not understand, but overall found it a rewarding viewing full of good performances.
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