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What Time Is It Over There?
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
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  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    Tsai's cinematic style is unique: He unfolds his stories in long, static shots that let you discover their surprises and mysteries on your own. And that's great fun. What Time Is It There? is perky, entertaining, and one of a kind.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    100
    Tsai builds this shimmering story with deft, deadpan wit and a warm, understated love of the absurd, both in life and afterlife.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    90
    Tsai's latest, What Time Is It There?, runs his usual themes and obsessions through a whimsical premise worthy of Wong Kar-Wai, striking such an exquisite balance between humor and despair that the moods comfortably coexist, just as they do in real life.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    90
    Tsai not only gives the audience a chance to breathe but also lets us luxuriate in the mood of deadpan melancholy his movie evokes so beautifully.
  5. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    90
    This wonderful, one-of-a-kind movie hops from Taiwan to France, from tragedy to deadpan comedy and, in its mysterious conclusion, from the worldly to the otherworldly.
    All this critic's reviews
  6. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    90
    Tsai Ming-liang's most exciting and original to date.
  7. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    It haunts you, you can't forget it, you admire its conception and are able to resolve some of the confusions you had while watching it.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    88
    While its careful pace and seemingly opaque story may not satisfy every moviegoer's appetite, the film's final scene is soaringly, transparently moving.
  9. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    80
    More of the same from Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang, which is good news to anyone who's fallen under the sweet, melancholy spell of this unique director's previous films.
  10. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    80
    Tsai Ming-Liang's new movie about urban isolation reinvents the delicate, poetic shadow play of silent movies.
  11. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    80
    Takes raw grief as its point of departure only to play out as a comedy of deadpan heartbreak.
  12. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    80
    The result is a film of surprise and wonder, lyrically attuned to the ticking intensity of romance.
  13. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    80
    Filled with purposeful, if absurd, activity rendered gravely hilarious through Tsai's deadpan, distanced representation of extreme behavior.
  14. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    The story that emerges has elements of romance, tragedy and even silent-movie comedy.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    This movie is not of a style that will speak to general audiences. It is nearly wordless, spare to a fare-thee-well.
    All this critic's reviews
  16. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Very slowly builds to an emotional payoff in a devastating scene where the three main characters simultaneously seek relief in sex.
  17. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Andy Klein
    70
    Those with an interest in new or singular sorts of film experiences will find What Time Is It There? well worth the time.
  18. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    67
    Is nothing if not foreign, but not in the sense of national demarcations of language and custom. It speaks a different cinematic language, one that tosses off the usual rules of camerawork and narrative structure.
  19. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    An art piece in which everything seems to be a metaphor for something else, and as pleasing as it is to watch, it's too pretentious by half.
  20. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Steven Winn
    25
    Things happen in a flat, deadpan way.
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