What Time Is It There?
| What Time Is It There? | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Literally | What time is it there? |
| Directed by | Tsai Ming-liang |
| Written by | Tsai Ming-liang Yang Pi-ying |
| Produced by | Bruno Pesery |
| Starring | Lee Kang-sheng Chen Shiang-chyi Lu Yi-Ching |
| Distributed by | WinStar Cinema (United States) |
Release date | September 29, 2001 (United States) |
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Languages | Mandarin French Taiwanese English |
What Time Is It There? is a 2001 film directed by Tsai Ming-liang. It stars Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Shiang-chyi, and Lu Yi-Ching.
Plot
The film tells two parallel stories, one about the life of a street vendor (Lee) following the death of his father; the other about a woman he meets briefly (Chen) as she heads off on a trip of uncertain duration to Paris. Lee's character, who sells watches on the streets of Taipei, sells his own watch to Chen and then finds himself overcome by a desire to set every clock he sees to Paris time.
Jean-Pierre Léaud, the lead actor in François Truffaut's The 400 Blows and actor in many other classic films, has a cameo appearance in this film.
Cast
- Lee Kang-sheng - Hsiao-kang
- Chen Shiang-chyi - Shiang-chyi
- Lu Yi-Ching - Mother
- Miao Tien - Father
- Cecilia Yip - Woman in Paris
- Chen Chao-jung - Man in Subway Station
- Tsai Guei - Prostitute
- Arthur Nauzyciel - Man at Phone Booth
- David Ganansia - Man at Restaurant
- Jean-Pierre Léaud - Jean-Pierre/Man at the Cemetery
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 51 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it requires patience to view, What Time Is It There?'s exploration of loneliness is both elegant and haunting."[1] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2]
Awards
- Wins
- Chicago Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Cinematography
- Technical Grand Prize (Cannes) (Tu Duu-Chih for sound design)
- Nominations
References
- ^ "Ni na bian ji dian (What Time Is It Over There?) (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "What Time Is It Over There? Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: What Time Is It There?". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
External links
- What Time Is It There? at IMDb
- What Time Is It There? at AllMovie
- What Time Is It There? at Box Office Mojo
- What Time Is It There? at Rotten Tomatoes
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