Dir. Hou Hsiao Hsien, 2005, Taiwan, 136 minutes Cast: Shu Qi, Chang Chen Review by Daniel Laverick Three Times, the winner of the Golden Horse award for the best Taiwanese film of the year in 2005, earns a belated release to British arthouse cinemas and gives cinephiles in the UK a rare chance to experience the work of Hou Hsiao Hsien on the big screen. As the doyen of the influential Taiwan New Cinema of the 1980’s, Hou comes with a long and distinguished career as a director who is held in high regard, particularly amongst European cinema and festivalgoers. Stylistically, Three Times is stamped with the distinctive Hou Hsiao Hsien directorial traits of restraint. The static camera shots, lengthy takes and deliberate pace may be difficult for some to bear but for those who are already familiar with his work and those who have the patience to see the film through to its end, the result may be rewarding. Split into three separate sections, Three Times spans varied historical eras. The first part (A Time for Love) is set in 1966 and follows the story of Chen (Chang Chen), a young man out on a one day release from the army who searches for May (Shu Qi), a pool hall girl he fell in love with before he was called up for national service. The use of the era defining songs ‘smoke gets in your eyes’ and ‘rain and tears’ cement the time period and provide a sense of melancholy and loss as Chen scours the pool halls of Taiwan looking for May. You may be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled across a Wong Kar Wai film with the theme of love, loss and nostalgia that is evident in the first part of Three Times. It’s an intense and emotionally charged opening to the film, the first of three related yet independent stories. The second section is set in 1911 during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Entitled ‘A Time for Freedom’; part two of Three Times is where this film veers away from the usual Hou Hsiao Hsien style. The second segment is filmed in the style of the time period it is set in, namely that of the silent film. A continuous, mournful piano score permeates the entire story, which is essentially a tale of two people from contradictory backgrounds falling in love (the revolutionary scholar and the courtesan). The ‘New Cinema’ style is retained though, linking part 2 with parts 1 and 3. A dramatic change in style would leave the film with a disjointed and unconnected sense, which is narrowly avoided through the recognisable, observational style of Hou Hsiao Hsien. The final part, ‘A Time for Youth’, opens with an impressive shot of Zhen (Chang Chen) and Jing (Shu Qi) riding on a motorcycle under a bridge towards the cityscape of Taipei. The shot slowly reveals the Taiwan of 2005 and serves as a dramatic signifier for the change in setting. Jing is a singer who suffers from epilepsy and is losing the sight in one of her eyes. Both characters are involved in affairs and seem to live in an isolated and self-centred modern world that lacks the passion, commitment and sense of honour that existed in the past. This is a classic Hou Hsiao Hsien theme, the critique of a modern world that is forgetting the past and lacking in moral fibre. Nostalgia and an obsession with the past is a common theme in Taiwanese cinema, particularly in the films of those who are connected with the Taiwan new Cinema and Three Times continues in this tradition. This is not the best work of Hou Hsiao Hsien. Hou fans may feel that it’s adequate but not up to the level of films like Goodbye South Goodbye and City of Sadness. Other spectators may find the pace and lack of action hard to digest as Three Times does require some effort and patience in order to appreciate its qualities. A film to be savoured but perhaps an acquired taste for some.
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