DVD Review - Three Times

Hou Hsiao-hsien's latest film was raved by the critics. But after seeing it I don't know why. And after reading regular filmgoers postings on Netflix I found out that I am in the majority.

Three Times tells three different stories set in Taiwan. Time for Freedom takes place in 1911 where the main characters are a man who wants political change and a prostitute. Time for Love takes place in 1966 and the main characters are a hostess in a pool hall and a man who is in the army. Time for Youth takes place in 2005 and the main characters are a rock singer and a photographer. In all three stories the main characters are played by Shu Qi and Chang Chen. Qi is good (although a bit too old to play the character in Time for Youth) but I found Chen quite stiff.

All three stories focus on love, some of it unrequited. The film is beautifully shot and the music adds a lot of atmosphere. The problem is that the three stories add up to a big fat nothing. I've seen another film by this director (Millennium Mambo) that I liked. But this one just left me cold. It reeks of pretentiousness. I am not recommending it at all. I just wonder what all of the critics saw that I (and many others) didn't see. Or perhaps it is just so "in" to like certain films and dislike others. But we shouldn't put too much importance on the opinion of others as all of us who love film are critics as well.