What Time Is it There (2001) and Paradise Now (2005)

Another blog first! We have a movie (What Time Is It There) that has been cut from the latest version of 1001. So, keepers of our word as we are, we'll be watching both the winner and the loser. First: the loser. What Time follows a couple who occupy separate continents (the dude in Taipei, the chick in Paris) and only encounter each other randomly. Apparently, this is a case of style vs. substance. Though the characters are literally strangers, the formal elements of the film tie them together. We'll see about that.




And the winner! Paradise Now, which follows two would-be suicide bombers, got major critical lovin' when it came out. This suspenseful and twisty look at what might be the two men's last days together, attempts to humanize the bombers, and introduce complexity to issues that cinematically (and politically) are often presented in black-and-white terms. Sounds intriguing . . .