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Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Tien Miao, Cecilia Yip, Jean-Pierre Léaud

Master Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang directs this look at three people looking for human connection. Hsiao-kang (Tsai regular Lee Kang-sheng) is a young man who sells watches from a briefcase in... read more read more... front of Taipei's train station. When his father (Mio Tien) suddenly dies at the beginning of the film, it sends Hsiao-kang and his mother, Lu, on two radically different trajectories. His grieving mother becomes obsessed with the return of her dead husband's spirit. Hsiao-kang starts to urinate into plastic bags and bottles rather than risk bumping into his father's ghost in the middle of the night. Around that same time, Hsiao-kang encounters an aggressive, though beautiful, lass named Shiang-chyi (Chen Shiang-chyi) who is travelling in a couple of days to Paris. Entranced by the girl, he reluctantly sells her his own watch even though he believes that item has some connection to his father. The encounter leaves with Hsiao-kang with a fixation that Paris is in another time. Soon, he is changing each and every clock he can find back seven hours to Parisian time, forging an obscure connection to Shiang-chyi. Shiang-chyi herself finds Paris to be little different from Taipei in terms of alienation and isolation. Though she has run ins with several people, including an irate Frenchman in the middle of a lover's tiff and none other than Jean-Pierre Leaud in a cemetery, she only finds some comfort when she meets a woman from Hong Kong (Cecila Yip) who generously shares her hotel room with her. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

80% liked it

3,449 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

50 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Ming-liang Tsai

Release Date: May 15, 2001

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DVD Release Date: August 20, 2002

Stats: 163 reviews

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'What Time Is It There?' 'What Time Is It There?'
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Flixster Reviews (163)

  • 5oclockcoffee
    June 6, 2009
    5oclockcoffee
    A girl is going to Paris. A watch seller. A cake as a gift. Two people connected by loneliness. Subtle humor, sadness, minimal dialogues, slow movie.

    ... read moreorder='0' alt='Image Hosted by ImageShack.us'/>

    This absolutely great film also brings an homage to Truffaut and a small part of Jean-Pierre Léaud. You don´t need to know The 400 blows, but if you do, you will definitely have another view of "What Time Is It There?".




  • Saxia
    July 11, 2008
    Saxia
    I slow film about loss, emptiness, loneliness and the need to fill this up, to be somewhat in control and not being able to. Very delicate.
  • naoyakugimiya1
    March 19, 2012
    naoyakugimiya1
    An encounter, a goodbye, infinite loneliness of life, and a miracle that conquers them all... Beautiful, beautiful film all about a very subtle but common feeling to us all.
  • GringoTex
    August 14, 2009
    GringoTex
    I had trouble reconciling the austere, severe mise-en-scene with the cutesy subject matter in this particular film. But this is a director I want to see more of.
  • sitenoise
    July 10, 2009
    sitenoise
    This is the best plotless film where nothing happens I've ever seen. The film focuses on three characters, their loss and loneliness. If there is a story arc it's that each of them finally reaches out to make a connection, a sexual connection, with varying degrees of success. Thr... read moreoughout the film we simply observe them doing, well ... not much of anything, but practically every scene is cut so that you wish you could stay with it for at least a moment longer, to be with that person in that situation for just a bit more time. You can't make a film like this without masterful execution of the crafts of acting, cinematography, and direction. Check, check, and check. I was stunned by this film ... even without considering its symbolisms and allegories.
  • spicyeye
    November 30, 2008
    spicyeye
    probably the most dragging movie i've seen in 2002. my friggin friend --- gian --- highly recommended it, wondering what got into him. not that it sucked and all, it just probably didn't appeal to me. or like what chie said (the one i watched it with) "What the ----, if it wasn't... read more for the freakin mother I could have gone out of the cinema." The bright side, it was kindda dark, a hellish bloody dark comedy. That has scrimed dialogue. A thriller wannabe, teaches you the very essence of the absurd Chinese culture. and that could give it some credit. But I still can't believe it actually won an award?
  • columbiatch
    August 22, 2007
    columbiatch
    A film about our desire to feel connected to others through synchonicity of time. Don't see this if you don't have an attention span of less then one minute. Tsai has the Bresson minimalist style down pat. He also is obviously influenced by Ozu, as his camera never moves. The ... read morequirky dead pan humor contrasts with the lonely pathos and urban alienation of his characters. Watch for a cameo by a certain French star who spearheaded the French New Wave. This is a film that wears its European art film influences proudly on its sleeve, from its homages to Kieslowski's Rouge and Truffaut's 400 Blows, to the aforementioned Bressonian minimalism.

    The Story concerns a young man who sells watches on a skywalk in Taipei. His father has recently passed away and his Buddist mother copes with the loss by trying to lure his spirit back to their home. One day he sells his own dual time watch to a young woman who is leaving for Paris. He becomes obsessed with Paris and starts to set all of his watches to Parisian time, soon even resetting other people's clocks. Unkown to him, his actions estabilish a metaphysical connectiion between the three characters.

    The Skywalk is Gone - 9/10

    A short film that serves as the epilogue of What Time is it There? and the prologue to The Wayward Clouds. The skywalk where Hsiao Kang sells his watches and met Shiang Chyi has suddenly dissappeared when she returns to Taipei. This leads to some hilarious gags and forces Hsiao Kang to become a porn actor.

View All Ni na bian ji dian (What Time Is It Over There?) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey
March 28, 2002
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

While its careful pace and seemingly opaque story may not satisfy every moviegoer's appetite, the film's final scene is soaringly, transparently moving.

Susan Stark
March 22, 2002
Susan Stark, Detroit News

Tsai's confidence in the deep power of silence drives home the film's inner convictions. Its surface works coolly, intriguingly and, happily, feebly in opposition to the heart of the matter.

Eric Harrison
March 21, 2002
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

At times, Tsai's approach makes viewing this film like watching paint dry, but what a sublime design it makes. Full Review

Gary Dowell
March 21, 2002
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

Alternates between deadpan comedy and heartbreaking loneliness and isn't afraid to provoke introspection in both its characters and its audience. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
March 13, 2002
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Mr. Tsai is a very original artist in his medium, and What Time Is It There? should be seen at the very least for its spasms of absurdist humor. Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 1, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What Time Is It There? is not easy. It haunts you, you can't forget it, you admire its conception and are able to resolve some of the confusions you had while watching it. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
February 8, 2002
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

A rare film that actually expands and deepens in the memory when its time on screen has run out. Full Review

Steven Winn
February 4, 2002
Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle

The weight of the film's opaque, numbingly studied details ... is oppressive. Full Review

Desson Thomson
February 1, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

The story that emerges has elements of romance, tragedy and even silent-movie comedy.

Peter Rainer
January 22, 2002
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

An art piece in which everything seems to be a metaphor for something else, and as pleasing as it is to watch, it's too pretentious by half. Full Review

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