Long Long Night

This deeply moving debut from Kyu Bock Youm is a radiant animation chronicling the peripatetic lives of a rhino and a penguin. Together, this unlikely duo encounter adventure, tragedy, and wonder as they traverse a vast, ever-changing wilderness brimming with natural beauty and human-generated danger.

Raised by elephants for reasons never revealed, Norden is a soulful, peace-loving creature — and, as he will eventually learn, he is the last white boulder rhino on Earth. When he comes of age, he leaves the elephant orphanage of his childhood and wanders the world at will, running with zebras through swaying grass and beholding the infinite evening stars.

One day, Norden finds others that resemble him. He falls in love and fathers a child, but his familial idyll is short-lived. Soon he’s trying to escape from a zoo, and later finds himself escorting a penguin with an abandoned egg to some mythical place called “the ocean.” Stalked by jackals and desperately trying to avoid human poachers, these lovable pals forge an alliance that can weather any misadventure.

Every detail in Long Long Night is vividly, livingly rendered, from the wrinkles in Norden’s leathery flesh to luminous fireflies and leaping frogs, each accentuating a world full of awe-inspiring colour and fascinating strangeness. Alternating between mirth and profound loss, Norden’s long journey is above all distinguished by his open heart and enduring capacity for friendship.

GIOVANNA FULVI

Content advisory: mature themes, parental guidance advised