Mr. Long (2017)

Plot Summary: A Taiwanese hitman stranded and injured in a rural Japanese ghost town is nursed back to health by a young boy, finding unexpected redemption as a street-food cook before his past catches up to him.

Director: Sabu
Producers: Masayuki Tanishima, Yi-Ching Chen, Stephan Holl
Screenplay: Sabu

Starring:
Chang Chen as Long
Shohei Uno as Kenji
Yi-Ti Yao as Lily
Run-yin Bai as Jun
Masashi Toshirou as Heishi

Music: Akira Senju
Cinematography: Otsuka Koichi
Editing: Sabu

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⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

A Silent Hitman, a Ghost Town and a Beautiful Fate

Another movie and another wow! SABU is striking in its versatility. Mr. Long for me is a masterpiece. This is an outstanding movie! After watching, I could not sleep, constantly going over and over some moments from the movie in my head. Again, a film about fate, and this time also about loneliness that hurts the heart. Somewhere in the backyard of life there lives a silent and sad man who knows his job well, a woman with a child and a broken past, a group of people who rejoice at simple little things and are ready to come to the rescue completely disinterestedly, and somewhere in the same place, greedy people work, without any moral principles. And as you already know, we again have a cocktail of emotions and genres. It was desperately sad, sometimes funny and scary.

Oh boy... where to start? Ryu San is a Taiwanese hitman with a new contract. He has to go overseas and take out a Yakuza mobster. The job goes sideways and he ends up being beaten and then shot in the abdomen while escaping. Without his documents and almost dying, he finds a ghost town to rest and recover from his wounds. Luckily, or maybe due to karma for helping an abandoned dog in the past, a quiet child is around to help him. This is how we start our journey in this amazing China-Japan cultural crossover of a crime-drama movie. I love this movie from the depths of my soul and that, of course, means that I'm having a t-shirt made in its honor. 😂 (check the design below). I think there is not even a point in stating how obviously overlooked and therefore, overrated, this movie is. I don't care. I want it for my eyes only, just like a jealous girlfriend. Because of this masterpiece of a movie, we are going to skip the rules around here and extend SABU's theme week. So, 5 more movies by SABU are coming this way.

Masterful Cinematography, Perfect Score and an Unforgettable Cast

Two hours flew by unnoticed, SABU worked so meticulously on the film that, in my opinion, everything is perfect in it. The script is so solid that there are no questions left, each frame is verified in perfection and complemented by a minimalist soundtrack and a small amount of dialogue. I sat spellbound following the transformation of the main characters. The performance of all the actors is at the highest level. But I want to specifically mention Chang Chen (Long). His Mr. Long says almost nothing, and once again I realized that silence can tell more about a person, and actions can tell more than words. My heart was filled with happiness when the sadness and loneliness in Mr. Long's eyes finally disappeared and were replaced by the first happy, yet timid smile.

Krasnaya, you are right about everything. Chang Chen gave the character of Mr. Long his deserved coolness, coldblooded calmness and swift killing energy. We have mind-blowing cinematography. Just thinking about the disco scene or the footage of birds on temple rooftops makes my dopamine receptors act up. SABU's musical taste has aged like fine wine. This movie's score is simply perfect and it's glued to the flow of the picture. We have all kinds of tempo here and none makes you want to look at the clock. And what about SABU's writing? I had my foot back when it was revealed that the mother's boy was a drug addict. It was predictable that this was the case, and I was afraid that the mother wouldn't have a good backstory for her predicament. I was wrong and 100% satisfied with SABU's plot. The story might bring nothing new, but it's told in a wonderful and stylish way. I also love the way Taoist, Buddhist and Shinto elements are placed in the movie.

Final Verdict: A Meteorite Full of Precious Metals

Desperately recommend watching this gem of a film. Take the time and live this story together with its characters. And a warning from me - don't watch this movie hungry. Freddie knows what I am talking about! SABU made a brilliant film that I definitely want to return to.

This is beyond a gem of a film for me. It is more like a meteorite full of precious metals. And, yes, those Taiwanese beef noodles were torture for me. To end, I have to say that SABU's recognized sentimentalism worked for me this time. That last moment in the picture when Mr. Long is heard sound and clear I started contorting my face and trying to prevent myself from crying in front of Krasnaya. She got me and started making fun of me... Go watch this one and see you next week for more SABU movie talk.

FREDDY'S SCORE

100/100

KRASNAYA'S SCORE

100/100

Can't wait to print it. If you wish to have the logo, let me know.

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