r H Y nolite

movie review time:

three times, starring Shu Qi and Chang Chen, directed by some bloke by the name of.. well you can see his name on the poster.

by god this is a very beautiful movie. its like one of the most beautiful chinese movie i've seen... yet!

shu qi was just absolutely lovely in the show. and chang chen gave a very convincing performance in all three parts of the show.

oh, yeah, forgot to mention about what the movie is about.

three times is a collection of three short films about the love during different times between characters played by shu qi and chang chen.

the first film (titled: a time for love) bases itself in a time when bell bottom pants and tight fitting clothes were still all the rage, in a pool hall, where chang chen becomes infatuated with shu qi after their first meeting. however, unfortunately, chang chen was being drafted into the army at that time ( yes we all know how that feels don't we? bloody NS.. ). in an attempt to keep in contact chang chen asks if he can write to shu qi while he's away.

months pass. chang chen returns to the pool hall only to find that shu qi has left the place long ago and a new girl has replaced her. determined to see shu qi again, he embarks on a island wide journey through taiwan following trails given to him by various people, including her mom.

one thing to note is that throughout the show in the background is a collection of love songs from the 1960's era and the one that caught my attention was the beatles' rendition of aphrodite's child's rain and tears. wow. just beautiful, coupled with the show. i tried looking for that cover by beatles but in vain to my disappointment.. =(

the ending is just perfect and so sweet it is unbelievable.

the second film (titled: a time for freedom) is about a 1911 chinese courtesan, shu qi, who is in the exclusive service of chang chen, who plays a taiwanese political activist commuting between japan and china during the revolution.

it is a beautiful piece of silent film. there is no voice; you have to read the words off breaks in the film, just like the old films in olden days. and shu qi is just beautiful. she just carries herself so well throughout.

the reason why the title was a dream for freedom is because towards the end of the show, shu qi expressed her hopes to chang chen that he would consider her future... as in future not being in the brothel. get the drift?

no more on the plot if not it would spoil the whole show if you're gonna catch it... this second part of the movie is a masterpiece.

the third film (titled: a time for youth) features the couple again in modern day taiwan. she is a lesbian epileptic gothic singer with a really neurotic girlfriend, and he is a photographer working at a photo studio attached to a jealous girlfriend. they hook up, and the world goes topsy turvy. and i do mean topsy turvy.

the show revolves around how the couple gets away from their partners and romp together in chang chen's apartment, take off each other's clothes, all very erotic but no nudity involved. neat.

filmatography in this last piece is very rich with colour and sound, as shu qi tries her hand at singing a rather funny sounding english song, or is it just her english.. the whole tone of the show is made more enriching by making the colour richer and darker at the same time, meaning you get more colour but in less light. it makes the movie feel very "full". nice i like it that way. if it were in black and white i'd love it even more.