☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
What Time Is It There? (2001) -- M.-L. Tsai
This is the second
film I've seen by Ming-liang Tsai and it shares the same rhythms with that
later one (Goodbye Dragon Inn) -- that is, slow and still. The shots often feature "ugly"
settings (e.g., toilets, messy rooms) but are shot with colored lights or
filters (and dressed with certain objects) such that the complementary hues
stand out. The plot itself is about loss and lack of connection (a
father/husband passes away, a girl goes on a trip to a country where she
doesn't speak the language) but it doesn't feel as depressed or dejected as
that sounds -- instead it feels rather mysterious. This sense of mystery is heightened by the
film's ending in Paris. What resonance might
an object like the watch (transferred from one to another) hold, spiritually,
psychologically? Is this the key to the puzzle? Deeper allusions to
reincarnation (the wheel of time) abound and turning back time might be a very
common human yearning. Something to ponder.
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