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Three Times — Director information

[draft]

Some of the better links on Hou Hsiao Hsien:

Hou Hsiao-Hsien (侯孝賢; 侯孝贤; Hóu Xiàoxián)

[from my lecture notes]

Taiwan film slow to mature because of Japanese occupation, issues with the mainland, and very strong economic neighbors (199) growth of technology sector of Taipei in 1980s, relaxation of censorship (200) tension between traditional Confucianism and rural life on the one hand and hypermodern capitalism on the other (201).

Hou Hsiao-hsien: "New Taiwanese Cinema" or New Wave, part of self-criticism of the country, supported by CMPC (Central Motion Picture Company)

Hou regarded as one of the world's greatest living directors (201)

Educated at National Taiwan Academy of Arts, founded 1957, in Taipei (http://www.sibmas.org/idpac/asia/twt002.html#8 )

Until 1990s, his films about issues of Taiwanese history and identity

Born China's Guangdong Province, 1947, emigrated 1948

1985 breakthrough film A Time to Live and a Time to Die. a poet of daily life, his meticulously composed long takes and meandering narrative structure reflect the rhythms of small town existence (202) ... affection with losers (206) as in "ordinary people, working class, gangsters and bargirls" (207); constraints and independence (206) and our Three Times definitely this.

Voted "Director of the Decade" in the 1990s by a poll of American and international critics) but films not widely distributed (wiki)

Films on my mind:

  • A time to Live and a Time to Die, 1985
  • Goodbye, South, Goodbye, 1996
  • Flowers of Shanghai, 1998
  • Millennium Mambo, 2001
  • Café Lumiere, 2003 (Japanese film)
  • Three Times, 2005
  • Red Balloon, 2006 (French film)

Director: HOU Hsiao Hsien (Chinese-Taiwanese, Taipei)
Year released: 2005
Running time: 2:06
Settings: 1) 1960s industrial town, countryside, 2) 1911 courtesan's establishment, 3) 2005 Taipei
IMDb: Three Times
Release data (Box Office Mojo): Three Times

Kaohsiung 1966

  • Chen: main male protagonist who loves May
  • May: the main female protagonist
  • Haruko: a pool girl who works briefly at the place where May will work

Dadaochung 1911

  • Mr. Chang: main male protagonist, diplomat involved with Taiwan's struggle for independence
  • Ah Mei-1: main female protagonist, a courtesan who is beginning to age
  • Ah Mei-2: a younger courtesan originally scheduled to take over the duties of Ah Mei-1
  • 10-year-old girl: to be trained as a courtesan

Taipei 2005

  • Zhen: main male protagonist, works in a digital photoshop and has a girlfriend names Blue
  • Jing: main female protagonist, a singer with epilepsy
  • Micky: Jing's female lover

Topics of focus for this film:

Context: Role of cultural contexts in shaping these romantic narratives (place, socio-economic group, time periods)

Layering: Is its use indicative of something cultural in Taiwan or East Asia or not?

Modes of communication, especially "letters" (in whatever form).

Role of music in the three stories.

Film segments / Film modules

Module 01: Scenes 00-06 (42 min.)
Module 02: Scenes 07-13 (39 min.)
Module 03: Scenes 14-18 (45 min.)

On campus availability

Media Center (Moffitt) — DVD 6514