FAMILY DYNAMICS & DYSFUNCTIONS

This feature film by Taipei-based director Tsai Ming-liangis is an melodrama about family dynamics and dysfunction. Moreover it is a beautifully conceived tribute to and emulation of Truffaut's classic first film, The 400 Blows. Both movies convey the same central theme: we fear being alone, we desperately desire love and companionship. Through comedic, yet achingly bittersweet episodes of near encounters, duality, and coincidence, “WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?” (2001, 116 mins) transcends the bounds of geographical, cultural, and personal isolation to map the elusive metaphysical plane of human interconnectedness.