Executive Producer Hou Hsiao Hsien and Hwarng Wern-Ying
Editor: Liao Ching-Sun
Starring Shu Qi and Chang Chen
Directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien
THREE TIMES
KAOHSIUNG, 1966
A TIME FOR LOVE
Ma'am...
You're here!
You came from Xinying?
Go on in
I'll be right there when I've made this offering
Okay
Need a hand?
No, thanks
Did you look around?
I'll show you the upstairs
Good
May
Come upstairs for lunch!
Coming...
"Dear Miss Haruko..."
"I'm being bold enough to write to you"
"I'm about to do my military service"
"My folks wrote to me yesterday"
"They said my call-up notice has arrived"
"They're asking me to come home as soon as I can"
"Time flies..."
"I failed the university entrance exam two years running"
"My mother has passed away"
"I've no idea what the future holds"
"I just want to thank you"
"The days I've spent around here..."
"...have been my happiest days"
"Hope to hear back from you"
"Take care"
"P S. You know that song called 'In Love'?"
"The lyrics go..."
"I think of you, I think of you"
"It's been three years..."
"But you're always in my dreams"
"Why do seabirds wake me from my dream?"
"It's because their sad cries..."
"...pierce my heart"
Is Haruko here?
She's gone to Taichung
Taichung?
Do you know where?
By the railway station
What's your name?
Your name?
My name is May
May
You sank it?
Great!
You need to concentrate!
I thought I could get this ball over there...
...and sink it that way
No way!
You haven't sunk a ball for ages!
So I still lose
Right
Never mind
I have to go
Go where?
I'm starting military service, in Taipei
Keep the change
I'll write to you
I'll send it here
"Dear Miss May
Do you remember me?"
"We played one round before I left to do military service"
"Time flies"
"That was three months ago!"
"We have non-stop spring rain"
"In our base, they keep playing that song"
"Rain and Tears"
"It sums up my feelings...
Hope to see you soon"
"Stay beautiful!"
Have a seat
Ma'am...
I should be going
Won't you have lunch with us first?
I'll miss the train
You're welcome to come back here anytime
Thank you
Have you worked in Jiayi before?
Yes
I thought so, I saw you there
I have to go
Hello
Is May here?
She doesn't work here any more
She's gone to Jiayi
Jiayi?
Where exactly?
A pool-hall there
Are you looking for her?
I can ask our boss
Ma'am!
There's a man here looking for May
Okay
You're looking for May?
Yes
She's in Jiayi, at 685, Zhongcheng Road
Zhongcheng Road?
That's right
GANGSHAN
TAINAN
JIAYI
Excuse me...
Is there a girl called May here?
She left days ago
Do you know where she is now?
Sorry, I don't
Thanks anyway
One bonus point
SHUISHANG
XINYING
Excuse me...
This is Number 11, so where's Number 3?
Number 30
Number 3
That's No. 6... The doctor lives in No. 1
You can ask there
Anyone in?
Who is it?
Who are you looking for?
I'm looking for May
May?
She's not here, she's in Huwei
Huwei
Who are you?
How do you know this address?
I'm a friend of hers from Kaohsiung
She wrote to me
Oh, I see
You know where she is?
Yes, she wrote to me the other day
I'll fetch her letter
Thank you
See you again!
DALIN
DOUNAN
HUWEI
You don't have to let me win!
Long time no see!
How did you find me here?
Your mother told me
It was hard to track you down
Have you eaten yet?
What time do you get off?
Two hours from now
When are you due back in base?
At 9 tomorrow morning
Have some tea?
Sure
Thank you
Sit down
Cigarette?
Okay
Hey, spare me a cigarette? Cigarette
There are no more trains
What time you have to be there?
Nine in the morning
Then we'd better wait at the car-share place
DADAOCHENG, 1911
When did you arrive?
Yesterday... I met Mr. Liang on the docks at Keelung
There was a meeting today at the
Eastern Restaurant, and it was packed
You mean the Mr. Liang who fled to Japan...
...when the Reform Movement collapsed?
Mr. Liang spoke for one hour and wrote out four poems
and we found them deeply moving
One poem read...
"Our homeland is torn asunder
Our brotherly bond is ever tighter"
A TIME FOR FREEDOM
How long will you stay?
Five days
I will go with Mr. Liang to Taichung, and then come back north
Before the new year, your son had a fever... has he recovered?
He is well now, but it took two whole months
NEXT DAY
We sincerely wish to resolve the matter of redeeming Ah Mei's contract
300 silver dollars is a large sum
Is it possible to discuss some more?
Ah Mei is pregnant by the heir to the Su Tea Plantation
He is willing to take her as his concubine
What have they decided?
The Su family offers 200 silver dollars
But Madame asks for 300, so they couldn't agree
I will make up the difference for them
In your articles you have always criticize the keeping of concubines
Aren't you acting against your own principles?
I do disapprove of keeping concubines...
...but in this case, I must assent
Ah Mei's future must come first
Mr. Chang, your generosity is overwhelming
Your stay is too short to allow us to show our full gratitude
Travel safely
I will have Ah Mei and her husband thank you in person when you return
SIX DAYS LATER
I can see that Mr. Su is honorable
His father is also very understanding, you are blessed.
You will be married tomorrow, and your life will be very different
Rise early to serve your in-laws
Always defer to the first wife
Never behave willfully.
ONE MONTH LATER
During my travels with Mr. Liang
I met many people.
It has been very inspiring.
Mr. Liang says China will not be ready...
...to help our people secede from Japan...
...for another 3 decades.
This is 100 silver dollars.
Many thanks! Ah Mei is truly fortunate to have found such a good family.
Madame is seeking a new girl to adopt
Meanwhile, she asks me to stay here longer
She always promised to release me for marriage...
...once Ah Mei became a top courtesan herself.
THE NEXT DAY
How old are you?
I am ten.
Good bone structure...
A little skinny.
You are pregnant.
Don't overtire yourself.
Today Ah Mei returns
to express her gratitude to you, sir.
Without your kind intervention, this would not have happened.
You leave tomorrow, when will you come again?
I will assist Mr. Liang with his plan for a newspaper.
I may turn up here at any time.
I have something to ask you...
Last time you said that you assented in Ah Mei's case...
...for the sake of her future.
Now Madame is asking me to stay here longer.
Have you given a thought about my future?
THREE MONTHS LATER THE WUCHANG UPRISING
"I reached Tokyo a day ago to join Mr. Liang"
"We leave for Shanghai tomorrow"
"I visited the hall where the treaty ceding Taiwan to Japan was signed"
"Thinking of Mr. Liang's poem, I couldn't help shedding tears"
"Although this place has torn my heart, it is wrenching to leave it.
"With all that has passed in these 17 years
the tears of the oppressed are not assuaged."
TAIPEI,2005
Are you okay?
A TIME FOR YOUTH
Mother, did you just call me?
I see
Are you okay?
"Born premature"
"Showed up too early..."
"High price to pay"
"Fractured bones, a hole in the heart"
"Epilepsy, almost blind in my right eye"
"A yen sign branded on my neck"
"Name your price! I want to sell my soul..."
"No past, no future, just a hungry present"
Please open your eyes
Open your ears
Check you brain
To realize what you want
To realize who you are
No one can decide how you feel
Don't be afraid to
Liberate deep inside your mind
The color which you've seen
The shape which you're in
May reveal the secret
You've never known before
So celebrate when you're honest to yourself
So celebrate when you no need to disregard how you feel
So celebrate when you feel different from mine
Let's celebrate when we no need to tell lie and hide
"I suffer from epilepsy"
"Please do not call an ambulance"
"Please move me to a safe, warm place"
"Taipei Medical University Hospital"
Piss off!
Come home
Don't bug me!
I need napkins
Pass me some napkins
Thanks
Why didn't you take my calls?
I kept ringing, you never picked up
Even if you were sleeping, you could have called back
I was sleeping
Why didn't you call me to say so?
I told you I was tired
Then why did you switch off your phone after my call?
I told you, I had a fit
But right after you texted me
you switched off your phone
I went to sleep right away
You could still have called me
Couldn't you hear your phone?
Couldn't you?
I left it in vibration mode
Don't be angry
If you were me, what would you think?
I'll wait for you when you finish, okay?
TEXT MESSAGE
"Can't sleep, miss you, you left your epilepsy card at my place"
"Developed the photos, will show you tomorrow"
I burn my hand every time I light a candle with this lighter.
My thumb hurts.
It's almost run out.
I can hardly light this one.
Pass that one to me.
Thanks.
We'll light this one later.
And that one.
That one too.
Has water gone inside?
You hear that funny sound?
The wick is wet.
Let's buy some new ones tomorrow.
There are two left.
The water is dirty.
Can you change it later?
Is it because of the candle wax?
I can't even light them
Shall I put some fragrant oils in the bath?
Okay
Let's bathe together.
I'll take silence as a 'Yes'
Okay
I'll go get clothes
"The pictures taken before
"With smiling gray eyes
"May rest, such cruel sound
Jing! It's ready, hurry up!
"It's still vivid, like a bird"
Jing...
You're still awake?
Grandma made some chicken soup
I'll get some for you?
Jing!
Grandma made some chicken soup
I'll get some for you?
Okay
Sorry, I'm late
I called you just now
But you didn't answer
The photos.
Go to your place.
Jing?
"One missed call"
"Connecting..."
You must have gone out before 12:45.
You left your cell phone here.
I think you did it on purpose.
To make me think you had...
just stepped out for a minute.
Your last missed call was at 12.45.
So you'd have gone by then.
Now it's 3:33.
You've been out for over 3 hours.
You knew I'd wake up at 4.
I don't want to hear any more of your lies.
I'm fed up with waiting for you.
You keep pushing me.
You know that I love you more than you love me.
You'll regret this
I will kill myself just like Olika.
"I think you did it on purpose"
"Your last missed call was at 12:45"
"You've been out for over 3 hours"
"I don't want to hear anymore of your lies"
"I'm fed up with waiting for you"
"You keep pushing me"
"You know that I love you more than you love me"
"You'll regret this"
"I will kill myself just like Olika"