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Three Times — General Statements

this page still under construction

no comments yet but definitely read the special note on characters on the characters page and Module 1, since the setting and character information (as well as questions, special notes, scene summaries) are there

 

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

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

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

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.

On our schedule, this movie begins with Session 36.

First session: Scenes 00-06 (42 min.) Second session: Scenes 07-13 (39 min.) Third session: Scenes 14-18 (45 min.) Fourth session: open discussion (50 min.)

Availability: Media Center (Moffitt) — DVD 6514 / Netflix I don't think so