Longing is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Savi Gabizon. It stars Richard Gere, Suzanne Clément, and Diane Kruger. It is a remake of Gabizon's 2017 Israeli film.
A wealthy businessman meets up with his ex-girlfriend 20 years after they broke up. She tells him that she was pregnant when she left but that their son has recently died.
Filming began on September 24, 2022. Filming occurred in Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, Cambridge, Ontario and Kitchener, Ontario.
Longing was released in Canada by Mongrel Media on June 7, 2024. It was also released in the United States on the same day in limited theaters by Lionsgate Films.
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 didnâÂÂt 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, Frank Scheck said: "It doesnâÂÂt help that Gere delivers such a recessive, understated performance that weâÂÂre never able to connect emotionally with his character, which is as much the filmmakerâÂÂs fault as the actorâÂÂs. Instead of being drawn in by DanielâÂÂs 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 of El PaÃÂs 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, 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."