Timeline
Three Times (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order
- Release, runtime and language
- 2020 · 21 mins · Spanish
- Directed by
- Paco Ruiz
- Starring
- Frank Feys, Koldo Olabarri, Ione Irazabal
Mario is home alone. His parents are gone and it will take them a while to return. Enough time for their son to arrange a sex date on the Internet with a total stranger.
On this page (4)
15 events in order · contains spoilers
Three Times Timeline: Events in Chronological Order
Every key event of Three Times (2020) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.
-
Chen Meets May
In 1966 Kaohsiung, a young soldier named Chen, who is awaiting deployment to his station, encounters May, a young woman working in a poolhall. The two play pool together and often exchange glances while trying to remain discreet about their mutual attraction. As May begins to close the hall for the night, Chen promises to write to her before departing, and she is flattered.
- When
- 1966
- Where
- Kaohsiung
-
A Letter from Chen
Three months later, May receives a letter from Chen in which he writes that he hopes to see her soon. After working at the poolhall for a few more months, she decides to return to Chiayi, where she had previously worked.
- Where
- Kaohsiung
-
Tracking May to Huwei
One day, while off duty, Chen gets a chance to visit the Kaohsiung poolhall, only to discover that May no longer works there. He begins to follow her trail and finally tracks her down at a different pool hall in Huwei. The two spend some time together, reunited at last.
- Where
- Huwei
-
Missing the Train
Chen and May head to the train station so that he may return to his post, but they arrive too late and miss the departure. May suggests they wait for the next bus instead. As they stand at the stop, Chen takes her hand and the two huddle together underneath their umbrella.
- Where
- Huwei
-
A Courtesan's Hope
In Dadaocheng in 1911, during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, a singing courtesan living in a brothel longs to be freed by becoming a concubine to Mr. Chang. His occupation as a traveling writer and political freedom fighter keeps him away for months at a time. When he does visit, he shares stories of his travels while she sings to him.
- When
- 1911
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
Freedom Denied
Despite being fond of her, Mr. Chang denies the courtesan the opportunity of freedom. He disagrees with the system of concubinage and remains overcommitted to the political cause of fighting the Japanese through diplomacy.
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
Ah Mei's Freedom
The courtesan's younger sister, Ah Mei, who also works as a courtesan, is impregnated by a customer who cannot afford to buy her out. Mr. Chang decides to help by purchasing the younger sister's freedom. After being bought, Ah Mei goes to speak with her sister and the two say their farewells.
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
An Unanswered Glance
One month later, Mr. Chang returns to the brothel to visit the courtesan. She tells him that her Madame has asked her to remain until Ah Mei's position is replaced, hopefully glancing at him as she speaks. Mr. Chang does not respond.
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
Silence and Tears
A few days later, the new courtesan is brought in to speak with her, and when the courtesan asks the girl her age, she says she is ten. After Ah Mei comes to visit, the courtesan asks Mr. Chang if he has any plans to make her his concubine. He remains silent, and she begins to cry.
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
A Letter of Sorrow
Three months later, the courtesan listens to the new girl's singing lessons when she receives a letter from Mr. Chang. In it, he writes of a poem that reflects on the sorrow that may befall Taiwan after being liberated by its captors. After reading the poem, the courtesan wipes her tears away.
- Where
- Dadaocheng
-
The Affair Begins
In Taipei in 2005, Jing, an epileptic club singer in a lesbian relationship, has a sexual encounter with a photographer named Zhen in her apartment. The two begin an affair, even though Jing is already involved with her girlfriend.
- When
- 2005
- Where
- Taipei
-
Under the Spotlights
During one of Jing's performances, Zhen comes onstage to photograph her up close, prompting the other photographers to follow suit. Jing begins to interact with Zhen on stage while her girlfriend watches from the crowd. A woman, presumably Zhen's girlfriend, walks out on the performance.
- Where
- Taipei
-
The Badge and a Rejection
Back at his apartment, Zhen finds Jing's badge, which carries instructions on what to do in case of an epileptic episode. Before he goes to return it, he spots his girlfriend down the street and tries to embrace her, but she rejects his advances.
- Where
- Taipei
-
Distant Hearts
At a club, Jing and her girlfriend argue over Jing's failure to respond to her calls, and Jing calms her down with a hug and a promise to wait for her to perform. Later, Jing receives a text from Zhen asking to meet the following day so he can give her the photos and her misplaced badge. When her girlfriend leaves to bathe, Jing remains distant and begins writing lyrics inspired by her experience with Zhen.
- Where
- Taipei
-
The Final Message
The following morning, Jing records the music to the song she wrote the night before, then meets up with Zhen and continues their affair at his place. Her girlfriend wakes up to find Jing absent and, after finding her phone left behind, types a message saying she is tired of waiting to be loved back and that she will kill herself like Jing's previous girlfriend. Jing returns home, finds the message, and lies down on the bed as the song she wrote begins to play. She is last seen riding with Zhen on his motorbike along the freeway.
- Where
- Taipei
Last updated: October 09, 2026 at 13:37
Timeline questions answered
Three Times Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered
When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Three Times (2020): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.
Q1 How are the three stories in this film connected?
The three segments are not linked by characters or plot but by theme. Each story, set in 1911, 1966, and 2005, explores the persistence of longing, missed connections, and unfulfilled desire across different eras of Taiwanese history. The anthology structure implies that these feelings of yearning are not bound to a single period but recur across generations despite vast historical change.
- anthology structure
- three stories
- thematic connection
- longing
- taiwanese history
Q2 Why does Mr. Chang refuse to free the courtesan but buy Ah Mei's freedom?
Mr. Chang is ideologically opposed to the system of concubinage itself, believing it perpetuates the very oppression he fights against politically. However, he is willing to use the system to rescue Ah Mei from an exploitative pregnancy because helping a younger sister escape immediate harm does not require him to legitimize concubinage as an institution. His refusal leaves the older courtesan trapped despite his affection for her.
- mr chang
- courtesan
- concubinage
- ah mei
- freedom
- ideology
Q3 Does Jing's girlfriend kill herself at the end of the film?
The ending is left deliberately ambiguous. After discovering Jing missing, the girlfriend types a message saying she is tired of waiting to be loved back and that she will kill herself like Jing's previous girlfriend. Jing returns home, reads the message, and collapses onto the bed in despair. The final image is surreal, Jing riding on the back of Zhen's motorbike along a freeway, so the film never confirms whether the girlfriend acts on her threat.
Foreshadowing: The girlfriend's mention of Jing's 'previous girlfriend' implies a pattern of tragedy that has surfaced before.
- jing girlfriend
- suicide
- ambiguous ending
- three times
- message
Q4 Why is the second segment presented as a silent film?
The middle story is set in 1911 during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, an era when silent cinema was the dominant form. The choice to render it as a silent film with intertitles evokes the historical period while also reflecting the voicelessness of the courtesan, whose desires are repeatedly ignored. Voices are heard only during moments when she sings for Mr. Chang, emphasizing how rarely she is truly listened to.
- silent film
- 1911
- japanese occupation
- dadaocheng
- courtesan
Q5 What does Mr. Chang's poem mean at the end of the second segment?
The poem reflects on the sorrow that may befall Taiwan even after it is liberated from its colonial rulers. It suggests that political freedom does not guarantee personal happiness, and that the end of one oppression may simply give way to another. After reading it, the courtesan quietly wipes her tears, recognizing that her own longing for freedom may similarly go unfulfilled even if Taiwan's does not.
- poem
- mr chang
- liberation
- taiwan
- sorrow
- colonial allegory
Q6 Why does May leave Kaohsiung for Chiayi after receiving Chen's letter?
After receiving Chen's letter but with no clear timeline for his return, May chooses to return to her previous place of employment rather than wait indefinitely in Kaohsiung. The decision reflects her independence and the uncertain circumstances of a soldier's deployment, which makes indefinite waiting impractical. Her departure is what forces Chen to actively track her down later.
- may
- chen
- chiayi
- kaohsiung
- letter
- soldier
Q7 What is the significance of the ten-year-old girl brought into the brothel?
The introduction of a ten-year-old replacement for Ah Mei underscores the brutal, cyclical nature of exploitation within the system of concubinage. Her presence is precisely what fuels Mr. Chang's moral refusal to legitimize the institution by taking the older courtesan as his concubine. For the courtesan herself, the girl is a painful mirror of what her own future might have looked like if she had been sold younger.
- ten-year-old
- child
- brothel
- concubinage
- exploitation
- courtesan
Q8 Why does Jing cheat on her girlfriend with Zhen?
Jing's affair appears to stem from a growing emotional distance within her relationship and a desire for something more intense and passionate. Her girlfriend's accusation about Jing's 'previous girlfriend' suggests Jing has a recurring pattern of unavailable or one-sided love. The affair with Zhen gives Jing creative inspiration, as seen in the song she writes, suggesting Zhen fulfills a part of her that her current relationship cannot.
Foreshadowing: Jing's emotional detachment while her girlfriend tries to communicate foreshadows the eventual rupture.
- jing
- zhen
- affair
- cheating
- girlfriend
- infidelity
Q9 What does the motorcycle ending symbolize?
The final image of Jing riding on the back of Zhen's motorbike along a freeway represents a fleeting escape into passion and freedom. However, the freeway imagery is also open-ended and ominous, suggesting the relationship is hurtling toward an uncertain future rather than a stable resolution. The shift from the bedroom scene of despair to this wide-open road implies Jing has chosen desire, but at a cost the film refuses to resolve.
- motorbike
- freeway
- ending
- jing
- zhen
- symbolism
Q10 What does the reference to Jing's previous girlfriend mean?
The girlfriend's message that she will 'kill herself like Jing's previous girlfriend' implies Jing has been involved in at least one prior relationship that ended in tragedy. This detail reframes Jing's current behavior as a repeating pattern of emotional withdrawal rather than a one-time mistake, and it raises the implied threat of suicide from a vague warning into a specific echo of past trauma.
- previous girlfriend
- suicide
- pattern
- jing
- trauma
Q11 Why does Zhen come onstage during Jing's performance?
Zhen's decision to photograph Jing up close during her set publicly marks his desire for her and asserts a kind of territorial claim in front of her girlfriend, who is watching from the crowd. The act provokes other photographers to follow, amplifying the moment and humiliating Jing's girlfriend. It is a deliberate breach of performance etiquette that exposes the affair's visibility.
- zhen
- jing
- performance
- stage
- photography
- girlfriend
Q12 Why do Chen and May miss the train at the end of the first segment?
Chen and May simply arrive too late for their departure, but the missed train functions as a narrative device that extends their time together beyond what the military schedule would have allowed. It creates the rare moment of physical closeness under a shared umbrella at the bus stop, which becomes the emotional climax of the segment. The missed train thus becomes the only gift their constrained circumstances can offer them.
- chen
- may
- train
- missed
- huwei
- umbrella
Q13 What is the significance of Jing's medical badge being left behind?
The badge contains instructions on how to handle an epileptic seizure, and Zhen's discovery of it reveals a hidden vulnerability in Jing that she has not shared openly. The fact that it is left at Zhen's apartment rather than carried with her signals her emotional drift toward him and away from her girlfriend. The badge also becomes the practical pretext for their next meeting, which leads to the affair's continuation.
- medical badge
- epilepsy
- jing
- zhen
- seizure instructions
Q14 What does the umbrella scene at the bus stop mean?
The image of Chen and May huddled close together under a single umbrella is the only moment of direct physical contact in the first segment and serves as its emotional climax. After weeks of exchanging glances and missing each other, the umbrella shelter becomes a private space where their restrained longing is finally allowed expression. It encapsulates the segment's larger theme: love that exists only in stolen fragments.
- umbrella
- chen
- may
- bus stop
- intimacy
- love dream
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