Zui hao de shi guang (2005)

English title: Three Times.

Synopsis (spoilers): First story, 1966 -- A young man meets a woman in a snooker hall, then goes to military service on another town. He writes her letters. When he finishes his service period, he goes after her. Second story, 1911 -- Mr. Chang, a young man who works for the liberation of Taiwan from Japan, has a lover who works as a prostitute in a brothel. One of her friends gets pregnant and is considered for concubine of a man, but they couldn't reach a financial agreement. Mr. Chang helps her financially so that the deal can be made. Meanwhile, his own lover wants to free herself from the work in the brothel. Third story, 2005 -- A young woman cheats on her female lover with a young man. Her female lover gets more and more unhappy with the situation.

Appraisal: There are interesting elements in this film, both in individual scenes and in the general concept behind it. It seems to be trying to make some philosophical point about how the different times shape the individuals. The director doesn't seem to be especially competent, a suspicion which had already been aroused in the only other film I have seen directed by him (A City of Sadness). Notwithstanding that fact, he seems to be serious about the projects he chooses, based on these two films alone, and both films are interesting and watchable. Specifically in the case of "Three Times", he makes several serious mistakes which considerably compromise the quality of the film. In the first episode, there is a lot of wasted time in nonevents, and the use of pop music is atrocious. In the second episode, the choice of the use of intertitles is absurd and ridiculous. These are, despite these flaws, the two best episodes of the film. The third one is even more seriously flawed in its essence, and it's hard to know the whole point of the story, which goes nowhere and draws a rather stereotypical portrait of contemporary youth. It is also inexplicably shy in the depiction of physical contact.

Rating: 45