he directed the japanese film "café lumière" (2003) for the shochiku studio as an homage to yasujirō ozu; the film premiered at a festival commemorating the centenary of ozu's birth. the film deals with themes reminiscent of ozu—tensions between parents and children and between tradition and modernity—in hou's typically indirect manner. his 2005 film "three times" features three stories of love set in 1911, 1966 and 2005 using the same actors, shu qi and chang chen.