''Longing'' is a 2024

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by

Savi Gabizon Savi (Shabtay) Gabizon (; born 23 July 1960) is an Israeli filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. In addition, he is also an adjunct professor in the film department of Tel Aviv University. Career Gabizon was born and raised in Kiryat Yam, nea ...

. It stars

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

Suzanne Clément Suzanne Clément (born 12 May 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in Xavier Dolan's arthouse films ''I Killed My Mother'' (2009), ''Laurence Anyways'' (2012), and '' Mommy'' (2014). Career She started her career in 1992, with ...

, and

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger (; Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in films such as ...

. It is a remake of Gabizon's 2017 Israeli film.

Premise

When a wealthy businessmen meets his girlfriend while she's visiting the big city, he's shocked to find out that they had a child together.

Cast

as Daniel *

as Alice *

as Rachel *

Marnie McPhail Marnie McPhail-Diamond is an American-born Canadian actress and musician. She began her career starring as Annie Edison in the CBC Television children's series ''The Edison Twins'' (1984–1986)."Movie based on real baby snatching" by Tony Ather ...

as Sonia * Kevin Hanchard as Robert * Stuart Hughes as Principal * Jessica Clement

Production

Filming began on September 24, 2022. Filming occurred in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers, in the central part of the Ontario Peninsula. The city had a population ...

and

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

Release

''Longing'' was released in Canada by

Mongrel Media Mongrel Media is an independent Canadian film distribution company established in 1994 by Hussain Amarshi. It is the exclusive Canadian theatrical distributor for Sony Pictures Classics, and a selection of smaller titles from Neon, A24, Amazon S ...

on June 7, 2024. It was also released in the United States on the same day in limited theaters by

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (spelled as Lions Gate until 2005, and formerly Cinépix Film Properties until 1998) is a Canadian-American film production and distribution company founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 15, 1962. It was owned by Lionsga ...

Critical Reception

Reviews for the film are generally negative. In ''Variety'', Alissa Simon wrote: "It seems odd that given the chance to remake his own film, Gabizon didn’t choose to make his protagonist more sympathetic or change the scenes that seem so out of tune with contemporary audiences." Writing in ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', Frank Scheck said: "It doesn’t help that Gere delivers such a recessive, understated performance that we’re never able to connect emotionally with his character, which is as much the filmmaker’s fault as the actor’s. Instead of being drawn in by Daniel’s spiral, we observe it from a distance. The result is that ''Longing'', presumably intended as a cathartic meditation on grief, simply feels absurd."

Javier Ocaña Javier Ocaña (born 1971) is a Spanish film critic. Life and career Ocaña was born in 1971 in Martos, province of Jaén. He earned a licentiate degree in law from the University of Granada and a master's degree in journalism from the Autonomo ...

of ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' rated the film 1 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "the best unintentional comedy of the season". However, in a positive review on ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'', Nell Minnow wrote: "It would be a mistake to take this movie too literally...Gabizon is not making a documentary here or attempting any realism. ''Longing'' is a manifestation of how grief makes emotions overtake reason and the inherent resilience that sometimes requires you to come back to reality. That reality will be diminished but somehow make you whole."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2020s English-language films Canadian comedy-drama films Israeli comedy-drama films Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Films shot in Toronto English-language Israeli films English-language Canadian films English-language comedy-drama films