What Time Is It Over There? 2002

Hsiao-kang, a street vendor in Taipei, makes a modest living selling watches from a briefcase. Following the recent passing of his father, life becomes increasingly complicated. In an unexpected turn of events, Shiang-chyi Chen arrives seeking a dual-time watch for her upcoming trip to Paris. Initially, Hsiao-kang refuses to part with his own personal watch, believing that selling it would bring him bad luck during his time of grief. However, Shiang-chyi’s determination leads her to persuade him to change his mind and purchase it.

As Hsiao-kang navigates his sorrow, he witnesses his mother mourning deeply, leaving food and water in hopes of reconnecting with the spirit of her deceased husband. In an attempt to escape his feelings, Hsiao-kang finds solace in cinematic worlds, watching The 400 Blows, a film set in Paris, meanwhile obsessively adjusting the time on all the clocks and watches around him to match that city’s time.

In the City of Lights, Shiang-chyi explores her surroundings alone, visiting shops and dining at restaurants, while Hsiao-kang’s mother grows more erratic—convinced that the changing times in their home signal her husband’s return, leading to escalating tensions between her and Hsiao-kang.

In a twist of fate at a cemetery, Shiang-chyi encounters Jean-Pierre Léaud, the star of The 400 Blows. Later, she forms a bond with another Chinese woman at a restaurant, only to share a brief, intimate moment before the woman turns away. Meanwhile, Hsiao-kang’s mother awkwardly sets the dinner table for her husband, indulging in her own moments of solitude afterward.

As Hsiao-kang attempts to cope with his emotional landscape, his night involves a fleeting connection with a prostitute, resulting in a loss when she steals his briefcase filled with watches while he sleeps. The cycle of sorrow and longing continues as Hsiao-kang returns home, lying beside his grieving mother, while Shiang-chyi finds herself lost in tears by a pool. Eventually, a mysterious figure resembling Hsiao-kang’s father emerges, retrieving Shiang-chyi’s suitcase from the water and disappearing into the night, leaving a haunting sense of unresolved connections in his wake.