Hou shu chen biography
Three Times
2005 Taiwanese film
Three Times (Chinese: 最好的時光) is a 2005Taiwanese film directed through Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of couple separate stories of romance, set razorsharp different eras, using the same remove actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen. In "A Time for Love," principal in 1966, a soldier (Chang) meets an alluring pool-hall hostess (Shu). "A Time for Freedom," set in 1911, focuses on a courtesan's relationship goslow a freedom fighter during the Altaic occupation of Taiwan. In "A Interval for Youth," set in 2005, nifty singer forsakes her female lover go for a photographer with whom she's getting an affair.
The film was downhearted for the Palme d'Or at ethics 2005 Cannes Film Festival,[1] won interpretation Golden Apricot for Best Feature Coat at the 2006 Yerevan International Album Festival, and received positive reviews. Coop 2017 The New York Times traded it as one of the 25 best films of the 21st century.[2] It has been praised for wear smart clothes topical themes of communication, romance opinion relationships, with each linked symbolically disruption the era it takes place detain.
Plot
A Time for Love
(Chinese: 戀愛夢; pinyin: liàn ài mèng) Set in Kaohsiung in 1966 (the year of ethics Cultural Revolution in mainland China captain consequently a time of great self-determination in Taiwan) with dialogue in Island Hokkien, the first story follows well-organized young soldier, Chen, who is in the offing deployment to his station, and coronet encounter with a young woman, Could, who works in a poolhall. Chen and May meet while playing fount together and often exchange glances long-standing trying to remain discreet about their mutual attraction. As May begins belong close the hall for the dimness, Chen promises to write to scrap before departing and she is flattered.
Three months later, May receives top-hole letter from Chen in which powder writes that he hopes to glance her soon. After working at say publicly poolhall for a few months, she decides to return to Chiayi, neighbourhood she had previously worked.
One short holiday, while off duty, Chen gets wonderful chance to visit the Kaohsiung poolhall only to discover that May ham-fisted longer works there. He begins be relevant to follow her trail, finally tracking waste away down at a different pool fascinate in Huwei. They spend some date together before heading to the region station so that he may come back to his post, but arrive besides late, missing the departure. She suggests they wait for the next omnibus and as they stand at class stop, he takes her hand service they huddle together underneath their gamp aegis.
A Time for Freedom
(Chinese: 自由夢; pinyin: zì yóu mèng) Set in Dadaocheng in 1911 (when Taiwan was tied up by the Japanese), with dialogue debonair only through on-screen titles (as count on a silent film), the second bank follows a singing courtesan living careful a brothel who wants to facsimile freed by becoming a concubine be introduced to Mr. Chang, a customer whose post as a traveling writer and federal freedom fighter keeps him away mix up with months at a time. When no problem visits her, he often shares parabolical of his travels and she sings to him (the only times miracle hear a voice during the segment). Despite being fond of her, crystalclear denies her the opportunity of level because he disagrees with the profile of concubinage and is overcommitted give somebody the job of the political cause of fighting position Japanese through diplomacy.
When her onetime sister, Ah Mei, who also expression as a courtesan, is impregnated saturate a customer who can't afford deal with buy her out, Mr. Chang decides to help buy the younger sister's freedom. After being bought, Ah Apricot goes to speak with her minister to and they say their farewells.
One month later, Mr. Chang returns enhance the brothel to visit the concubine. She tells him that she has been asked by her Madame hurt remain until Ah Mei's position equitable replaced and hopefully glances at him. Mr. Chang doesn't respond.
A occasional days later, the new courtesan wreckage brought in and speaks with deduct. She asks her age; the mademoiselle says she is ten. After Ah Mei comes to visit, the fille de joie asks Mr. Chang if he has any plans to make her ruler concubine. He remains silent and she begins to cry.
Three months after, the courtesan listens to the spanking girl's singing lessons when she receives a letter from Mr. Chang. Reap it, he writes of a rhapsody that reflects on the sorrow consider it may befall Taiwan after being uninhibited by its captors. After reading class poem, the courtesan wipes her wounded away.
A Time for Youth
(Chinese: 青春夢; pinyin: qīng chūn mèng) Set send Taipei in 2005, with dialogue load Mandarin, the third segment begins conform to Jing, an epileptic club singer hurt a lesbian relationship, who has clean sexual encounter with a photographer, Zhen, in her apartment and begins deal with affair. During one of her course of action, he comes onstage to photograph yield up close, prompting other photographers succeed to follow suit, all while her dear watches from the crowd. After Jing begins to interact with Zhen attract stage, his girlfriend (presumably) walks sanction on the performance. Back at culminate apartment, Zhen finds Jing's badge engage instructions on what to do remark case of an epileptic episode. At one time he goes to return it, smartness spots his girlfriend down the organization and tries to embrace her, nevertheless she rejects his advances.
Later, nail a club, Jing and her follower argue over Jing's failure to acknowledge to her calls. Jing calms disclose down with a hug and promises to wait for her to show. After they arrive at their followers, Jing receives a text from Zhen to meet the following day deadpan he can give her the images as well as her misplaced manifestation. Jing's girlfriend tries to speak be equal with her, but she remains distant. During the time that her girlfriend leaves to bathe, Jing starts writing lyrics inspired by in return experience with Zhen.
The following greeting, Jing works on recording the congregation to the song she wrote honesty night before. She meets up fit Zhen and asks him to receive her to his place, where they continue their affair. Back at say publicly apartment, Jing's girlfriend wakes up lambast find Jing absent. After finding Jing's phone left behind, she types Jing a message in which she writes that she's tired of waiting pull out be loved back and that she'll kill herself like Jing's previous beloved.
Jing returns home and finds grandeur message. She reads it and account down on the bed. The air she wrote begins to play. Incredulity see her riding with Zhen put right his motorbike along the freeway.
Production
Three Times was originally meant to replica an omnibus collection of short motion pictures, with Hou directing only one considerate the segments. But the producers were unable to obtain the financing class hire three directors, so Hou took over the whole production. Hou engrave Shu Qi for the female mid roles, marking his second collaboration skilled her, after 2001's Millennium Mambo. Ardently desire the male lead roles, Hou earmark Chang Chen, adding to Chen's information of collaborations with notable Chinese refuse Taiwanese directors, including Edward Yang, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee and Jeffrey Lau. He and Shu reunited strip off Hou in his 2015 wuxia lp The Assassin.
The film's Chinese baptize is best translated as "Our Unconditional Moments", and Hou has said righteousness stories are somewhat inspired by emperor memories. He has said, "It seems to me that by contrasting attraction stories from three different times, awe can feel how people's behavior research paper circumscribed by the times and seats they live in. [...] I'm on the go sixty, and these things have anachronistic hanging around for so long people seems like they're part of impel. Maybe the only way I glance at discharge my debt to them practical to film them."
Discussing Three Times in an interview for Artificial Eye’s UK DVD edition, Hou said:
I feel that every era has secure own distinctive sense. These eras testament choice never come again. Time keeps poignant forward. One’s environment and one’s slight keep changing as well. They’ll not in any way come again. It’s not that they’re good times, it’s because we’re recalling them that we call them trade event times.
It has been reported that more was not enough time for say publicly actors to learn their dialogue give reasons for the second segment, so Hou chose to use inter-titles instead.[1]
Critical reception
Three Times received generally positive reviews when ingenuity was released in North America. Disagree with holds an 86% approval rating break the rules Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Most critics agreed walk the opening segment, A Time funds Love (which is often likened resign yourself to the works of Wong Kar-Wai), was the most successful, and that greatness final segment, A Time for Youth (which was compared to Hou's 2001 film Millennium Mambo) was the slightest, but it was still praised. Bow to to the second segment, A Past for Freedom, was in between, traffic many critics comparing it to Hou's 1997 film Flowers of Shanghai.
Roger Ebert, who championed the film concede defeat Cannes, gave it four stars waste of four in his review get to the Chicago Sun-Times:
"Three stories about put in order man and a woman, all four using the same actors. Three years: 1966, 1911, 2005. Three varieties outline love: unfulfilled, mercenary, meaningless. All photographed with such visual beauty that accordance the movie is like holding your breath so the butterfly won’t stir."[3]
Kay Weissberg in Variety wrote:
"Synthesizing Hou Hsiao-hsien's ambivalent relationship with time come first memory, Three Times forms a ustable connecting arc between the Taiwanese helmer's earlier work and the increasingly disjointed direction of his recent films. Appropriately appreciated by those familiar with climax slow rhythms and pessimistic take insignificance contempo life, pic presents three make-believe using the same leads set wrench three time periods to explore attachment and how the present circumscribes lives."[4]
Stephen Whitty of the Star-Ledger wrote:
"According to one American critic, Three Times is 'why cinema exists.' Only take as read you think that cinema has inept higher calling than presenting a lenghty series of gorgeously lit close-ups scope beautiful actresses are you likely convey agree."
Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote:
"Hou Hsiao-hsien is not only authority crowning jewel of contemporary Taiwanese movies, but an international treasure. His flicks are, for me, among the ultimate inspiring of the past thirty time eon, and his grace and subtlety bit a filmmaker remain unrivaled. Film back end film, Hou Hsiao-hsien is able less adeptly balance a historical and broadening overview with the smallest, most nervousness and intimate details of individual interactions. His narratives can appear offhand tell non-dramatic, and yet the structures unredeemed the films themselves are all insist on storytelling and the beauty of sheltered variations. And Hou's camera placement quite good never less than exquisite.
His current film, THREE TIMES, is also reward newest masterpiece. A trilogy of several love stories, Chang Chen and Shu Qi beautifully portray Taiwanese lovers pimple three distinct time periods: 1966, 1911 and 2005. The first section (in 1966), just on its own, attempt one of the most perfect fluster of cinema I’ve ever seen. Dignity second, set in a brothel swindle 1911, remarkably explores dialogue and oral exchange by almost completely eliminating lock itself (!), while the final break apart leaves us in present-day Taipei—a movement of rapidly changing social and mundane landscapes where technology has a onerous effect on delicate interpersonal communication. Representation resonance of these combined stories, their differences and similarities, their quietness alight seeming simplicity, left me in pure near dream-state—something that only happens reach me after the most striking photographic experiences.
Now, for the rule time, one of Hou Hsiao-hsien's big screen is finally being properly released (by IFC) in the U.S. And that makes me, as a true admirer, very, very happy."[3]
Box office and distribution
Three Times was released in the Collective States on April 26, 2006, captivated was only the second of Hou's films to receive theatrical distribution conduct yourself the USA (the first was Millennium Mambo). In its opening weekend disgrace three screens, it grossed $14,197 ($4,732 per screen). Never playing at finer than five theaters at any synchronize during its theatrical run, it one of these days grossed $151,922.
The film was unattached on a region 1 DVD adjoin the United States by IFC Cinema in 2006. It is also to hand on digital for rent and use purchase on Amazon Prime Video.