Because of the long take's close association with the theoretical assumptions of neorealism, any subsequent use of it makes for a deceiving representation of the real by duplicating the original mistakes of the neorealists. Most crucially, they emphasize the synthetic qualities of the long take while ignoring the contradictions posed by the inevitable use of ellipsis. To look at the temporal gaps between takes (of long or any length) is to acknowledge the artificial, constructed nature of the long take style. Thus, when Hou's critics point out his "realistic" use of the long take, they inevitably refer to his style in terms of realism, rather than stylization and overt control.
By way of contrast, we will emphasize the consciously creative use of ellipsis in relation to the long take. In this example, the second brother insults a rival gang member, and a fight breaks out. This long take appears to be a sequence shot, followed by the beginning of another sequence shot of a card game. However, a few long beats after the beginning of the second shot, the fight erupts into the room and is broken up; the second brother lies wounded in his elder brother's arms. The next shot seems to begin a new sequence as the rival gang's boss walks down a corridor, but the sounds of a fight fade into the background and older brother bursts into the hallway only to be shot. (C 14:21-18:20) The endings of both the first and second shots appear to contain and ending, however, they conceal an undecidable ellipsis that becomes evident only in retrospect.
By making the temporal gaps between sequence shots of indeterminate length, Hou forces a curious instability into the image. One is never confident in the temporal or spatial coordinates at the beginning of a shot, forcing the spectator to rely heavily on the previous sequence shot until the who, what, when and where of a shot/sequence is established. This constant need to ground a sequence shot in what came before makes elements of one shot's time, space, narrative, and mood bleed into the next. Hou is well aware of this effect: "When I cut between scenes, I try to allow the unfinished atmosphere of the last shot to continue into the next." (Kehr) This has the effect of smoothing out the cuts between shots, making the film a monumentally amorphous experience. This plays into idealizations of the long take aesthetic as closer to reality, as a method that grants a measure of freedom to both the spectator and the actors (non-actors who are allowed to improvise their own dialogue). However, this effect is created by embedding the long take in a far from obvious, controlling structure, creating a subtle dialectic between freedom and control.