Ni na bian ji dian   2001   Taiwan, France What Time Is It There?
What Time Is It There? Image Cover
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Director:Ming-liang Tsai
Studio:Arena Films
Writer:Ming-liang Tsai, Pi-ying Yang
IMDb Rating:7.2 (2,261 votes)
Awards:11 wins & 2 nominations
Genre:Drama, Romance
Duration:116 min
Languages:Mandarin, French, Taiwanese, English
IMDb:0269746
Amazon:B000068TP3
Search:NetflixYouTube
Ming-liang Tsai  ...  (Director)
Ming-liang Tsai, Pi-ying Yang  ...  (Writer)
 
Kang-sheng Lee  ...  Hsiao-kang
Shiang-chyi Chen  ...  Shiang-chyi
Yi-Ching Lu  ...  Mother
Tien Miao  ...  Father
Cecilia Yip  ...  Woman in Paris
Chao-jung Chen  ...  Man in Subway Station
Guei Tsai  ...  Prostitute
Arthur Nauzyciel  ...  Man at Phone Booth
David Ganansia  ...  Man at Restaurant
Jean-Pierre Léaud  ...  Jean-Pierre / Man at the Cemetery
Benoît Delhomme  ...  Cinematographer
Comments: 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. Throughout 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.

Summary: When a young street vendor with a grim home life meets a girl on her way to Paris, they forge an instant connection. He changes all the clocks in Taipei to French time; as he watches Francois Truffaut's Les 400 Coups, she has a strange encounter with its now-ageing star (Jean-Pierre Leaud).


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