'What Time is it There?' - Tsai Ming-liang.

1. I believe the director uses long takes without continuity cutting but allowing character movement for several reasons. Firstly it focuses the audiences attention onto the characters within the shot forcing the viewer to form feelings and opinions on what is happening in shot. This also gives us the time to take in the beauty of some of the films excellent cinematography. Saying this also relates to the realistic settings, yet almost surreal happenings within the film. The beautiful shots and emotional narrative allow us to forgive the odd plot, it almost makes the film better as with a more sensible plot this film may not have worked.
The film can be strongly compared and contrasted with the Dogme 95 Vow of Chastity as it follows some rules such as, being shot on location as far as I can tell, not showing any temporal or geographical alienation (even though the film deals with time), not including any superficial actions and also including fully diagetic sound. However it does break rules. All shots are not handheld as they are far too steady and props are brought into some scenes, like the bag at the end. Could we say Tsai has made his own 'manifesto-based' approach?

2. Tsai's approach allows the film to be framed equisietly as the cinematographer has the time and lack of camera movement to produce memorable shots. We do see characters go out of shot, such as the father in the beginning sequence. This only intrigues the viewer more as our natural urge is to know what they are doing out of shot and we wait for them, anticipating their return. This also creates fantastic opportunities to show depth on screen. Again in he opening sequence, the father comes to the foreground sitting at the table but gets up later to go smoke a cigarette in the background at the back door. The framing of the shot allows the director to do this. I think the opening and end scenes in the film are superb, so subtle but yet they have such a huge effect.

3. I spoke about depth a little above but would like to talk about the end scenes. There's the shot when the girl is sat by the lake side close to the camera as her bag floats by in the background in a very tranquil manner. It allows us to really feel the surroundings. And of course the final shot as the old man (interpreted by myself as the boys dead father) walks toward the big wheel. This has a great dynamic composition as the man gradually shrinks as he nears the huge wheel. The wheel I believe can be interpreted as either a watch face or that everything returns to normal/moves on.

4. I am undecided as whether Tsai's film can be described as 'minimalist'. The aesthetic ambition of the film has been described as 'Beckettian' refering to the work of the minimalist writer Samuel Beckett. All the characters are similar in their isolation and frustration in life, enduring joyless sexual acts changing nothing and their body language and expressions leave the characters motives open to interpretation. The inclusion of slapstick humour may also be considered to be minimalist (being comedy in its simplest form). Yet Tsai also has a real sense of innovation within the piece. The well executed photography and composition of shots, the takes which as they are long need to be cut at the exact moment when needed and the subject of time can hardly be considered minimalist. I believe the subject matter of the piece also has a sense 'surrealism' with 'unbreakable' watches and a character obsessed with the Parisian time although he resides in Taipei.

5. I am unsure about question five but believe there is only one light source in each shot, although I dont fully understand what is asked.

6. If what I said in question five is correct then I would say the light changes the feel of the shot because it doesn't change as a character walks into different areas of the shot and becomes darker or lighter. It gives a very natural, real feel.

7. I felt the lighting was very natural. It may have a duller blue feel but this works in the winter, isolated setting and as a representation of the characters. I couldnt imagine the film would have worked with warmer, bolder colours and climates.