Thrice

Three Times (2005) by Hou Hsiao-Hsien is a sight to behold that might truly test your patience. It’s only in these fast-paced-don’t-really-know-where-we-going-desperately-seeking-instant-gratification times where the latter comment is almost automatically considered a negative.

A combination of beautifully and apparently painstakingly composed shots, an amazing acting performance from the lead actress (Shu Qi) and a very economical use of dialogue (one of the ‘times’, set in 1911, appropriately takes the form of a silent movie where muted scenes are followed with frames showing the script!) make for an often delicate triptych with subtle, growing tensions (echoed in only-slightly altered repeated actions and settings that unassumingly capture the viewer.

So a hint on content? 3 love stories in 3 very distinct time periods. Innocence, naïveté, indulgence, defeatism, discovery … you know, all the usual things that come with the territory! But less usual perhaps, emotions are communicated and read almost intuitively through the film’s nuances … the audience must learn active viewing once again!

A Palatable Pursuit

“Altogether equal in importance to the truth, indeed, even more important than the truth, is the manner in which it is accepted — and it would not be of much use to lead thousands to accept the truth, if, precisely by the manner in which they accepted it, they were to find themselves excluded from it.”
—Kierkegaard

In that spirit, this blog aims to be a platform for sharing observations and discoveries of beauty. From visual aesthetics to interactive experiences, the stress is that good design need not be inaccessible or exclusive. Beauty abounds and it would seem that sometimes we merely need to pull the wool off of our eyes, awakening to smell (and burn) the incense and maximize our eating, breathing, sleeping, bathing, reading, walking, talking, entertaining, luxuriating (and so forth)… pleasure. But importantly, in a Kierkegaardian vein, we can define our own 'versions' of beauty—as the independent beholders that we are. That said, my part of the bargain is to seek beauty out from the most unexpected sources and situations. Seeing as you have chanced upon this particular somewhat-self-indulgent pursuit, I hope that you will engage/participate/challenge/supplement along the way!