Three Times
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| Three Times | |
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 Three Times film poster |
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| Directed by | Hou Hsiao-Hsien |
| Produced by | Chang Hua-fu |
| Written by | Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Chu T'ien-wen |
| Starring | Shu Qi, Chang Chen |
| Distributed by | First Distributors |
| Release date(s) | 20 May 2005 (Cannes Film Festival) |
| Running time | 120 min. |
| Language | Mandarin |
| IMDb profile | |
Three Times (最好的時光; Zui hao de shi guang; lit. 'Best of Time') is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. It features three chronologically separate stories of love between May and Chen, set in 1911, 1966 and 2005, using the same lead actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and received positive reviews.
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[edit] Background
Three Times was originally meant to be an omnibus collection of short films, with Hou Hsiao-hsien directing only one of the segments. The producers were unable to rustle the financing to be able to hire three directors, so instead, Hou took over production.[1]
[edit] Critical reception
Three Times received generally positive, sometimes ecstatic reviews when it was released in North America. It currently holds an 85% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 86% among the 'Cream of the Crop.'[2] Most critics agreed that the opening segment, A Time for Love, was the most successful, and that the final segment, A Time for Youth (which was frequently compared to Hou's Millennium Mambo) was the least successful. Response was somewhat mixed for the second segment, A Time for Freedom, with many critics likening it to Hou's Flowers of Shanghai.
Roger Ebert, who championed the film at Cannes, gave it four stars in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times:
"Three stories about a man and a woman, all three using the same actors. Three years: 1966, 1911, 2005. 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"[3]
Kay Weissberg in Variety was very positive:
"Synthesizing Hou Hsiao-hsien's ambivalent relationship with time and memory, Three Times forms a handy connecting arc between the Taiwanese helmer's earlier work and the increasingly fragmentary direction of his recent films. Best appreciated by those familiar with his slow rhythms and pessimistic take on contempo life, pic presents three stories using the same leads set in three time periods to explore love and how the present circumscribes lives."[4]
Stephen Witty of the Newark Star-Ledger was not impressed:
"According to one American critic, Three Times is "why cinema exists." Only if you think that cinema has no higher calling than presenting a long series of gorgeously lit close-ups of beautiful actresses are you likely to agree."
[edit] Box Office
Three Times was released in the United States on April 26, 2006, and was only the second film by Hou Hsiao-hsien to receive theatrical distribution in the USA (the first was Millenium Mambo). In its opening weekend on three screens, it grossed $14,197 USD ($4,732 per screen). Never playing at more than five theatres at any point during its theatrical run, it eventually grossed $151,922 USD in total.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2005 Cannes Film Festival
- Nominated: Palm d'Or
- 2005 Golden Horse Awards
- Won: Best Taiwanese Film
- Won: Best Actress (Shu Qi)
- Won: Best Taiwanese Filmmaker (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Chang Chen)
- Nominated: Best Art Direction
- Nominated: Best Cinematography
- Nominated: Best Director
- Nominated: Best Editing
- Nominated: Best Makeup and Costume Design
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Best Original Screenplay
- 2005 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Nominated: Best Asian Film (Taiwan)
