Examining romance ‘Three Times’

“Three Times,” composed of three love stories set in different eras that inescapably shape their course, finds Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien at his most intimate and romantic. The deceptive simplicity of these vignettes, written by Chu Tien-wen, throws into relief Hou’s formidable storytelling strengths and visual acuity -- his way with actors, his subtlety and expressiveness.

There is a sense that “Three Times,” modest in tone and intimate in scale, is fully realized -- that its maker is in complete command of the resources of his medium and has drawn upon them all to the finest effect. Exquisite Shu Qi and dashing Chang Chen, appearing in all three episodes, have a splendid opportunity to demonstrate their versatility and accomplishment. It’s not at all surprising that “Three Times,” now released by the venturesome IFC Films, was voted the best undistributed film of 2005 by both the Village Voice’s National Critics Poll and Film Comment magazine.

In lesser hands the first segment, “A Time for Love,” set in 1966, might well seem merely slight instead of remarkably evocative, attesting to Hou’s powers of observation. A young man, Chen (Chang), meets a young pool hall hostess, May (Shu), in the port city of Kaohsiung. They are sufficiently mutually attracted that after an evening of billiards, Chen, who is passing through, promises to write. He does, but when he returns he finds that May has moved on, and he thus commences to search for her. Throughout “Three Times,” Hou’s use of music is inspired and potent, and in this case he draws upon his memories of pursuing girls in pool halls where songs such as the Platters’ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and Aphrodite’s Child’s “Rain and Tears” played on jukeboxes. “A Time for Love” is suffused with joy intermingled with longing and suspense.

“A Time for Freedom,” which takes place in a high-class brothel in the city of Dadaocheng (now part of Taipei) in 1911, is “Three Times’ ” strongest sequence, a masterpiece in miniature. Taiwan has been under Japanese rule since 1895, a circumstance that parallels that of its heroine (Shu), more geisha than prostitute but no less enslaved by a system into which she was doubtlessly sold by her family. She has fallen in love with a progressive-minded Shanghai-based diplomat, Mr. Chang (Chang), who has agreed to buy the freedom of the courtesan’s pregnant colleagues -- but does not extend a similar offer to her. This sequence, an exercise in refinement and civility charged by its elegant heroine’s repressed emotions, turns upon her hopes and dreams kindled by the diplomat’s gesture. This sequence is shot as a silent film, accompanied by rippling piano music, appropriate both to the story’s era and mores.

“A Time for Youth,” which unfolds in 2005 Taipei, offers yet another cinematic style. If Hou’s first segment is lyrical and the second is formal, this concluding section is elliptical, capturing the rush and jaggedness of modern life. Jing (Shu) is a singer drifting into an affair with a photographer, Zhen (Chang), while neglecting her lover, another woman. Not surprisingly for Hou, “A Time for Youth” is not another conventional exploration of the triangle but a comment on how the reliance on cellphones and computers for communication tends to distance lovers and fragment relationships.

As distinctive as each segment of “Three Times” is, it emerges as the unified vision of a perceptive and highly personal filmmaker.

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‘Three Times’

MPAA rating: Unrated

Times guidelines: Adult themes, situations

An IFC Films release. Director Hou Hsiao-hsien. Screenplay by Chu Tien-wen. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bin. Editor Liao Ching-sun. In Mandarin and Taiwanese dialect, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Exclusively at the Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.