Three Times
With Chang Chen, Shu Qi, Di Mei, Liao Su-jen, and Mei Fang
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In “A Time for Love,” set in 1966 in Kaohsiung, Chen (Chang) receives his draft notice, then writes a love letter to May (Shu), who works at the snooker parlor where he hangs out. He discovers that she’s taken a job at another snooker parlor, and to the strains of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “Rain and Tears” he heads off to find her before reporting for duty. In “A Time for Freedom,” set in Dadaocheng in 1911, during the Japanese occupation, a married diplomat who dreams of Taiwanese independence visits a courtesan (all the dialogue is conveyed in intertitles), and a current of strong feeling passes between them. But he isn’t independent enough to take her as a concubine, and she isn’t independent enough to leave her profession. In “A Time for Youth,” set in Taipei in 2005, with mainland China threatening Taiwan with war, a pop singer avoids her female lover to spend more time with her male lover.
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–in their compositions and themes, in the way space is defined and camera pans connect characters, in their use of music and other means of personal expression (snooker, pop tunes, and letters in 1966; poetry, singing, and letters in 1911; photographs, singing, and e-mails in 2005), and in the performances of the two stars. Chang, who was discovered by Edward Yang and played the lead in Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day (1991) and Mahjong (1996), has become more identified with Wong Kar-wai, having appeared in Happy Together (1997), 2046 (2004), and “The Hand” (Wong’s episode in Eros, 2004). He’s also in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Shu has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Transporter (2002).
When: Multiple screenings, Fri 6/23 through Thu 6/29
