Three Times (最好的時光) (2005, Taiwan)

I'm a huge fan of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien, so I'm a little biased. This film isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's worth watching for HHH fans. It's in his trademark lethargic style, no surprise there, but instead of one long feature film which may try the patience of viewers not accustomed to his style, this film is broken into three segments in three different time periods.

Each segment focuses on a man and a woman, played by the same actors, and the relationship between them.

HHH does what he does so well – he gives us a meditative feel for Taiwan culture and society. In this film, he does it in three different time periods. I'm not sure what he was trying to do with this gimmick, whether he was trying to contrast them or say something about love or society and how they've changed, but it doesn't really matter.

As with all HHH films, he just sort of presents something and it's up to the audience to glean what they do. His films are ethereal and they seem to portray existence and reality in a meditative twilight. I think this was the first HHH film I've seen in Taiwan, and after watching this and going out into the Taipei streets, I felt like I was in one of his films.

Although I don't know if that says something about the film being a success in conveying a feeling, or if there's just something wrong with me.

Not a stand-out HHH film, but I'm still biased and give it a personal 8 out of 10 tomatoes. To people unfamiliar with his films, I would add a strong caveat that his films are very slow and meditative.