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. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Seen in isolation, the first episode has the most satisfying plot and the last the least. But the film's achievement lies mostly in the beautifully articulated similarities and differences among the three.
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 won't stir.
If you are easily lulled into a sensuous rhythm of pure cinematic languor, this will satisfy. If not, you may be banging your head against the back of your seat.
[Hou's] work gains significance due to his specifically tying this theme of love to Taiwan in particular, as opposed to just proposing a general essay on love.
Hsiao-Hsien reinforces his excellent cinematography with a bold use of music, featuring The Platters' Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, but ultimately the running time could have been halved and he would still have made his point.
The style is pure Hou: richly textured atmosphere, tiptoeing camerawork and long, languorous takes of scenes full of privileged moments of human activity.
"Three Times" contains three stylish vignettes set in Taiwan in 1966(Time for Love), 1911(Time for Freedom) and 2005(Time for Youth), each starring Qi Shu and Chen Chang playing characters in differing states of infatuation. Each story was made in an attempt to emulate each era's movies, not so much the reality of
that time.(Any time period never looks at itself completely honestly, censoring out any forbidden subjects, thus giving truth to the lie that nobody had hot sex before 1969.) Although 1966 owes a lot to Wong Kar Wai, 1911 is done as a silent film complete with intertitles and musical accompaniment, albeit in color. With the earlier times, there is a sense of so close and so far for the couple in question but in 2005 with total freedom, the couple is together but not happy, suggesting that with increased liberty, we are not necessarily any happier than in stricter times. But you know what? I'll take my chances with the present day...
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