Longing is Savi Gabizon’s English-language remake of his own Israeli film from 2017, which may explain some of the inherent oddness of the movie. Was something lost in translation? Not really; the original film (which is streaming on Tubi) is somewhat of an oddity, as well, though it was a lot less subtle and more directly comical. Perhaps we in America are just used to being told which emotions to feel all the time, and embrace our own manipulation. Things are very different in Longing, a serious drama about dead children that reaches levels of absurdity and awkwardness where you aren’t sure if you should laugh or cringe in discomfort.