Hou Hsiao-hsien’s three times are not stages of a linear career but concentric circles. Historical time ( A Time to Live… ) asks us to feel what is absent; intimate time ( Flowers of Shanghai ) asks us to feel the ritual that contains desire; ghostly time ( The Assassin ) asks us to feel the world as a dream that no one remembers dreaming. Across five decades, Hou has resisted the tyranny of the cut, the close-up, and the causal plot. Instead, he offers a cinema of duration, patience, and sensory immersion. To watch Hou is not to follow a story but to inhabit a temperature, a humidity, a duration. In his world, time is never neutral. It is the true protagonist—silent, relentless, and ultimately, all we have.
The story follows a young soldier, Chen (Chang Chen), who meets a young woman, May (Shu Qi), at a billiard hall. A connection is sparked, but Chen is drafted into the military. The narrative follows his attempts to find May again through a series of billiard halls, writing her letters as he searches.
★★★★½ (minus half a star only because your neck will hurt from leaning toward the screen, trying to catch a whispered line that was never meant to be caught.)
(2005) is a masterpiece by Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien . The film is a poetic triptych that explores love, memory, and time. It features the same two lead actors— Shu Qi and Chang Chen —playing different couples across three distinct eras of Taiwanese history.
The first segment is partly inspired by Hou's own youth in the 1960s.
[Your Name] Course: Advanced Film Studies / East Asian Cinema
Three Times Hou Hsiao Hsien [updated] Jun 2026
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s three times are not stages of a linear career but concentric circles. Historical time ( A Time to Live… ) asks us to feel what is absent; intimate time ( Flowers of Shanghai ) asks us to feel the ritual that contains desire; ghostly time ( The Assassin ) asks us to feel the world as a dream that no one remembers dreaming. Across five decades, Hou has resisted the tyranny of the cut, the close-up, and the causal plot. Instead, he offers a cinema of duration, patience, and sensory immersion. To watch Hou is not to follow a story but to inhabit a temperature, a humidity, a duration. In his world, time is never neutral. It is the true protagonist—silent, relentless, and ultimately, all we have.
The story follows a young soldier, Chen (Chang Chen), who meets a young woman, May (Shu Qi), at a billiard hall. A connection is sparked, but Chen is drafted into the military. The narrative follows his attempts to find May again through a series of billiard halls, writing her letters as he searches. three times hou hsiao hsien
★★★★½ (minus half a star only because your neck will hurt from leaning toward the screen, trying to catch a whispered line that was never meant to be caught.) Hou Hsiao-hsien’s three times are not stages of
(2005) is a masterpiece by Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien . The film is a poetic triptych that explores love, memory, and time. It features the same two lead actors— Shu Qi and Chang Chen —playing different couples across three distinct eras of Taiwanese history. Instead, he offers a cinema of duration, patience,
The first segment is partly inspired by Hou's own youth in the 1960s.
[Your Name] Course: Advanced Film Studies / East Asian Cinema