Today Taking the appearance of a silent film, the second segment entitled `A Time For Freedom' (¦Û¥Ñ¹Ú) is set in 1911, during the Japanese occupation. The unspoken love between a courtesan and a member of the Taiwanese literati is narrated through Hou's signature use of long takes and static cameras as seen in 1989's City of Sadness (´d±¡«°¥«) and 1998's Flowers of Shanghai (®ü¤Wªá).
Set in 2005, the third story `A Time For Youth' («C¬K¹Ú) presents the tale of an affair between a bisexual girl and a man who works at a digital photo shop. Amid the anomic life and spirit of the contemporary section, the story can be seen as an extension of Millennium Mambo (¤dÁH°Òªi) made in 2001.
Drawing applause and cheers from the international film festival circle set at New York, London, Pusan, Cannes and Toronto, Three Times also scored nine nominations at this year's Golden Horse Awards (ª÷°¨¼ú), including Best Drama Film, Best Director, Best Female and Male Actors and Best Cinematography.
Rumors have been swirling in local media that the film's stars, Chang and Shu are more than just colleagues. Hou reportedly stormed out of a Taipei press conference earlier this week when a reporter quizzed him on the veracity of claims that the two actors are having an affair.
Meanwhile, the South Taiwan Film and Video Festival («n¤è¼v®i) opens this weekend in Tainan County, its first stop on a four-city circuit. Originally started by Tainan National College of Arts to screen students' work from the college's film department, the fifth annual film festival will present several programs of international movies and Chinese-language productions and will also hold a competition for local directors.
Showcasing 27 works by young local talent, the competition is divided into fictional film, animation and documentary sections. Acclaimed filmmakers including Zero Chou (©P¬ü¬Â) (Splendid Float (ÆA¥ú¥®gºq»R¹Î), Wu Mi-sen (§d¦Ì´Ë) (Drop Me A Cat (µ¹§Ú¤@°¦¿ß) and Lee Yun-chan (§õªå¼`) (The Magical Washmachine (¯«©_¬~¦ç¾÷)) are all competing for the awards.
Movies in the "Films from the South" section include Basal Banar -- Sacred Ritual of Truth, an award-winning documentary, the first to be made by the Palaw'an tribe of indigenous people of South Palawan, Philippines. The winner of last year's Festival de Cannes Prix du Jury, Tropical Malady from Thailand tells the mythical story of a country boy and a young soldier, while Beautiful Boxer chronicles the life of a kick boxer who is determined to undergo a sex change operation to become a woman.
The Strait Story («n¤è¬ö¨Æ¤§¯B¥@¥ú¼v) by veteran female director Huang Yu-shan (¶À¥É¬À) and The Passage (¸g¹L) by Cheng Wen-tang (¾G¤å°ó) are among the must-sees flicks from the "Chinese-language Films" list.
The only X-rated movie in the section, AV from Hong Kong is about four college students who apply for a scholarship to hire a porno star from Japan to complete their secret project.
This is cache, read story here