Three Times

2005

2h 10m

Romance

LGBTQ+

List

86%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Three romantic tales take place in different eras. In "A Time for Love," set in 1966, a soldier (Chen Chang) meets an alluring pool-hall hostess (Shu Qi). "A Time for Freedom," set in 1911, focuses on a courtesan's relationship with a man during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In "A Time for Youth," set in 2005, a singer forsakes her female lover for a photographer.

Critics Consensus

Slowly paced, understated, and exquisitely shot, these are three lovely odes to love and longing.

Read Critics Reviews

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

This is a fascinating exercise in utilising style to make subtle psychological and political statements.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 4, 2006

Full Review

Digby Lewis

BBC.com

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.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 1, 2006

Full Review

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

An emotional journey, a showcase for two fine actors, and a multifaceted picture of love.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 14, 2006

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Hou has seemed at sea since Flowers of Shanghai ... In his films in the 1980s an element of social protest was present, consciously or otherwise; this has largely been replaced by nostalgia.

Feb 15, 2021

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

The first of the three stories is the best., with good visual style.

Dec 4, 2016

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Lambent

Aug 30, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Brilliantly acted and shot first and, to some extent, second parts were ruined by the stagnant third story.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It is always interesting to see Hou put together in the same film three stories that feel like a culmination of the main themes found in his work along so many years, even though the third leaves a lot to be desired and I find too distracting the fact that the second one is silent.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Three stories set in three times, 1911, 1966 and 2005. Two actors play the two main characters in each story. All of them sat in Thailand. This is not the easiest film to rate. It looks swell, and my first encounter with director Hsiao-hsien Hou makes me want to check out more of his films. With that said, this is a varied film that I would like to split up in it's three parts. The first part is superb. It looks great, the story and the pace is splendid and it got me really triggered for the rest. The second part is rather boring. It's sat in 1911 and a nice touch is to make it muted only supported by text, music and colors. The final part is all right. It's a bit more exciting, but still very suble and quite dark. It looks good and it's OK acted. In total I must say that this is a cool idea with OK execution. Part one is fantastic but other parts of the film are straight up boring and hard to follow. 6.5 out of 10 pool games.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Amazing. The cinematography of Hou Hsiao-hsien once again embellishes the already beautiful film, like a chocolate syrup-coated cherry topping.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Simplicity In It's Best Form ... Another Underrated Picture ... Another Great Director ... About Love, Freedom & Youth We Talking Here .

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful cinematography and acting but I have to admit that I only connected with the first segment

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Hsiao-hsien Hou

Director

Shu Qi

May

Chang Chen

Chen

Mei Fang

Old Woman

Liao Su-jen

Madam

Di Mei

May's mother

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Race You to the Bottom

54%

34%

Race You to the Bottom

Love Jones

76%

97%

Love Jones

Kama Sutra

40%

71%

Kama Sutra

The Love Letter

33%

38%

The Love Letter

Women in Love

83%

74%

Women in Love

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Three romantic tales take place in different eras. In "A Time for Love," set in 1966, a soldier (Chen Chang) meets an alluring pool-hall hostess (Shu Qi). "A Time for Freedom," set in 1911, focuses on a courtesan's relationship with a man during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In "A Time for Youth," set in 2005, a singer forsakes her female lover for a photographer.

Director: Hsiao-hsien Hou
Producer: Chang Hua-fu
Screenwriter: Chu Tien-wen
Production Co: Sinomovie.com
Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
Original Language: Chinese
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $151.7K
Runtime: 2h 10m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Most Popular at Home Now