Fiction

ZUIHAODE SHIGUANG

THREE TIMES
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Taiwan 2005
135 min
V'05

Three Times is arguably Hous finest film for some years. Moreover, it can be seen as something of a summation of his career to date, in that the first of the three stories, set in 1966, recalls early films like A Time to Live and A Time to Die, the second, set in 1911, echoes Flowers of Shanghai, and the last, set in todays Taipei, is in the style of Millennium Mambo. The same actors appear in each episode, and music features as commentary and atmospheric accompaniment in each; in the second, which plays like a silent film with intertitles, two classic Chinese songs bookend a lovely piano score somewhere between 20th-century impressionism and Jarrett-style jazz. That may give a clue to the films remarkable ambitions, its erudition, and its air of melancholy. Its a movie of subtle brilliance, always stunning to look at but refusing to divulge its treasures to the inattentive viewer. (Geoff Andrew)

Credits
  • Shu Qi - Ah Mei/May/Jing
  • Chang Chen - Chang/Chen/Zhen
  • Chu Tien-wen
  • Lee Mark Ping-bing
  • Tu Duu-chih
  • Liao Ching- sung
  • Hwarng Wern Ying
  • Wang Kuan-yi
Sino Movie 5 F, No. 67-4, Sec. 4 Chung Hsiao E. Rf 106 Taipei, Taiwan T 2 8771 9392 service@sinomovie.com

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35 mm
col
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