WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (NI NEI PIEN CHI TIEN) Asian New Classics

A Tsai Ming-liang film has certain elements: the long held shot and exquisite tension in the frame; the pacing; the themes of alienation; and of course that familiar face of constant muse Lee Kang-Sheng. But WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? also feels different and fresh.

Hsiao-kang is a young man who sells watches in the streets of Taipei. His father has suddenly died, and his mother is distraught and obsessed with the thought that the father will be reincarnated and return in another form. When Hsiao-kang meets Shiang-Chyi, a young woman leaving for Paris the very next day, he impulsively sells her his own watch. Disturbed by his mother’s actions and the loss of his father, Hsiao-kang takes refuge in his brief encounter with Shiang-Chyi and starts to change all the watches and clocks in Taipei to Paris time.

Tsai has created another cinematic gem, further exploring his unique language and paying homage to cinema, particularly to the French New Wave, with a cameo by Jean-Pierre Leaud as a lecherous man in a Paris cemetery. The film is also a moving tribute to the memories of Tsai’s and Lee’s own fathers who recently passed away.