Three Times (2005)

Original title

最好的時光

Directed by

Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Genre

drama film

Country

Taiwan, France

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

15

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 104 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film is three separate love stories set in different eras of Taiwan. In each story the same two actors play the main characters as they meet and form a bond under the constraints of their time.

melancholicslow-burnromanticbittersweetintimatecontemplativeelegiacquiet

What happens

Three Times (Chinese: 最好的時光) is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of three separate stories of romance, set in different eras, using the same lead actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen. In "A Time for Love," set 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 with a freedom fighter during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In "A Time for Youth," set in 2005, a singer forsakes her female lover for a photographer with whom she's having an affair. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, won the Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film at the 2006 Yerevan International Film Festival, and received positive reviews. In 2017 The New York Times listed it as one of the 25 best films of the 21st century. It has been praised for its topical themes of communication, romance and relationships, with each linked symbolically to the era it takes place in. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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