The movie is really long. Three hours long! You know that I do not particularly enjoy overlong movies. This one felt like three hours: the opening credits, coming in thirty minutes and after the first act, was half-wink and half-nod at that.

This was a slow movie, but none of the padding — none of the languor — felt inessential. This is a movie about what it feels like to be in the passenger seat on a long car ride, in many respects, and the fact that a solid third of the runtime is quiet shots of the Saab 900 Turbo flitting around Hokkaido is testament to that.

There are a lot of really perfect moments in this movie. The one I will fixate on — the one that made me briefly consider putting this into my canon — was the penultimate one. If you know, you know.

★★★★★

Highlights

Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya.

We’ll live through the long, long days,

and through the long nights.

We’ll patiently endure the trials that fate sends our way.

Even if we can’t rest,

we’ll continue to work for others

both now and when we have grown old.

And when our last hour comes

we’ll go quietly.

And in the great beyond, we’ll say to Him

that we suffered

that we cried

that life was hard.

And God…

will have pity on us.

Then you and I…

we4l see that bright, wonderful,

dreamlike life before our eyes.

We shall rejoice, and

with tender smiles on our faces,

we’ll look back on our current sorrow.

And then at last

we shall rest.

I believe it.

I strongly believe it from the bottom of my heart.

When that time comes,

we shall rest.