Three Times
Millennium Mambo director Hou Hsiao-hsien explores the ever-changing cycle of love in this collection of three romantic stories set in 1911, 1966, and 2005 and utilizing the same actors in all three tales. In "A Time for Love," a fresh-faced soldier boy named Chen (Chang Chen) searches for a pool hall hostess named May (Shu Qi) who captured his heart before disappearing into the crowd. The second tale, set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan and entitled "A Time for Freedom," finds an elegant courtesan tending to a young intellectual in a lavish brothel. The trilogy draws to a close with a segment entitled "A Time for Youth" in which a present-day Taipei singer who is also an epileptic neglects her female lover to seek the romantic attentions of a talented photographer.
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Starring: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Fang Mei, Su-jen Liao, Mei Di
Three varieties of love: unfulfilled, mercenary, meaningless. All photographed with such visual beauty that watching the movie is like holding your breath so the butterfly wonâ??t stir.
One of the best films of the year.
Three Times is great cinema, pop romance that carries a special charge.
Finds Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien at his most intimate and romantic. The deceptive simplicity of these vignettes, written by Chu Tien-wen, throws into relief Hou's formidable storytelling strengths and visual acuity - his way with actors, his subtlety and expressiveness.
Another triumph of modesty from a master who deserves real, paying audiences, not just the adoration of besotted film critics.
Hsiao-hsien Hou
Cannes Film Festival (2005)
Best Actress
Golden Horse Film Festival (2005)
Best Asian Film
Hong Kong Film Awards (2006)
Best Film
Yerevan International Film Festival (2006)
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