140 reviews
Painfuly slow, but so beautiful
The camera lingers on a woman, sitting on a bed, partially obscured by silk sheets that blow gently in the wind. The sheets drift apart and for a moment you see her face, contemplative. In a word, this is this film in a nutshell - contemplative.
To dispense with any misunderstanding, perhaps brought about by the title, or the brief description and the intense looking protagonist on the cover art, this is not a martial arts action film. The story contained within is a twisted intrigue of politics intertwined with an ill-fated love story and a young woman in emotional turmoil. There are a handful of beautifully choreographed scenes of combat, but in between lie long partitions of setting, silent physical drama and awkward monologues.
Making use of some of the most spectacular scenery in cinema, parts of the film have the feel of a cultural documentary. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to think that probably a third of the movie is setting shots of forest, lakes, trees, mountains, hills, goats, people's faces while they do something with their hands off camera, people walking, more people walking, people dancing, buildings at night, buildings in the day, buildings at sunset, buildings at sunrise, grass, person walking in grass, unknown person standing in trees, person looking surprised, then walking away... It's boring, it's beautiful and features some impressive mastery of camera work, lavish costumes and sets that are beautiful but it's also tedious. If viewing a film of this kind for the first time, a person may find it difficult to follow, not because the story is complex but because the story is thinly exposited between lengthy shots that establish very little if anything at all. Subsequently it is easy to lose interest between the action scenes and get lost in the cultural documentary that parses several critical events.
There is an audience for this type of a film - who is looking for something without hollywood glitz, who's tired of the over-the-top melodrama of western politics, who want something beautiful and slow and most importantly is familiar with enough Chinese culture to be able to infer the significance of seemingly pointless scenes. For example, there is something deliberate in seeing a random woman you're sure you've never seen before, standing in a forest, doing nothing. Maybe there's some significance to her gait, because she's a well known actress, and that's supposed to reveal an important relationship to another character. Is that exciting to you? Then sit back and get ready to watch a lot of people who stand there and say nothing, or participate in mundane everyday life events without an explanation. If you can decipher such curious camera angles and what's not shown or even talked about, you too can infer the meaning of this film, which isn't that mind-blowing when you do, but it's fun to participate along the way. While you're doing so, try not to be distracted by the film ration spontaneously switching from 4:3 to 16:9, that just happens... or does it?
To dispense with any misunderstanding, perhaps brought about by the title, or the brief description and the intense looking protagonist on the cover art, this is not a martial arts action film. The story contained within is a twisted intrigue of politics intertwined with an ill-fated love story and a young woman in emotional turmoil. There are a handful of beautifully choreographed scenes of combat, but in between lie long partitions of setting, silent physical drama and awkward monologues.
Making use of some of the most spectacular scenery in cinema, parts of the film have the feel of a cultural documentary. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to think that probably a third of the movie is setting shots of forest, lakes, trees, mountains, hills, goats, people's faces while they do something with their hands off camera, people walking, more people walking, people dancing, buildings at night, buildings in the day, buildings at sunset, buildings at sunrise, grass, person walking in grass, unknown person standing in trees, person looking surprised, then walking away... It's boring, it's beautiful and features some impressive mastery of camera work, lavish costumes and sets that are beautiful but it's also tedious. If viewing a film of this kind for the first time, a person may find it difficult to follow, not because the story is complex but because the story is thinly exposited between lengthy shots that establish very little if anything at all. Subsequently it is easy to lose interest between the action scenes and get lost in the cultural documentary that parses several critical events.
There is an audience for this type of a film - who is looking for something without hollywood glitz, who's tired of the over-the-top melodrama of western politics, who want something beautiful and slow and most importantly is familiar with enough Chinese culture to be able to infer the significance of seemingly pointless scenes. For example, there is something deliberate in seeing a random woman you're sure you've never seen before, standing in a forest, doing nothing. Maybe there's some significance to her gait, because she's a well known actress, and that's supposed to reveal an important relationship to another character. Is that exciting to you? Then sit back and get ready to watch a lot of people who stand there and say nothing, or participate in mundane everyday life events without an explanation. If you can decipher such curious camera angles and what's not shown or even talked about, you too can infer the meaning of this film, which isn't that mind-blowing when you do, but it's fun to participate along the way. While you're doing so, try not to be distracted by the film ration spontaneously switching from 4:3 to 16:9, that just happens... or does it?
- infoalwaysacritic
- Sep 27, 2018
- Permalink
Beautiful movie but no so viewer-friendly
Someone must have disliked it too!
i'll start off by saying I like slow movies. I like movies that tell stories through cinematography, editing, sound design. I like to watch movie and feast in the details and bits that the movie carefully exposes. But this movie... I mean, I know there was a history in there, in the middle of the odd editing and weird characters and dialog. But did I care at all? Did I, at any point, looked for the meaning, the motivations? Well... I tried too. I started the movie with a piece of paper and a pen, taking notes, writing the names of characters, trying to make sense of this good- looking mess. But at 30 minutes, I just gave up. It's not the Mallick type of movie, where you don't know exactly what's going on, but you feel that it's okay, it's a subjective experience. The Assassin is like that pretentious friend that uses a colorful, bright, beautiful prose to talk about something you don't get it, and you don't want to get it. You admire its beauty, but... you just don't care. It's not a beauty that touches, it's a beauty that dares, but you just don't get anything. I don't like to say something is pretentious, but I wouldn't be able do find another word. The Assassin is neither style or substance. I don't see a reason to watch it again, or recommend it.
- carlos_kagemane
- Dec 9, 2015
- Permalink
I'm going to assassinate my appetite with this burger.
Honestly I wasn't sure how to feel about this film after seeing it.
It looks absolutely gorgeous. The cinematography and production design are really top notch. If I were to judge the merits of this film based purely on its visuals, then I think I'd give it something closer to a 9 or 10. The visuals also comprise some of the best parts of the story telling. Occasionally the film will present an image without context, only to later have the meaning of that image revealed by a character in whatever dialogue driven scene will directly follow that image. It's pretty neat and adds an nice component to the visual splendor beyond simply the surface level appeal.
This element of the visual element of the film though, does hint at what is probably this film's greatest weakness. In the same way that one can become really confused when viewing some of the key images without their meaning revealed until after their presentation, the story of the film as a whole is potentially incomprehensible. I don't think it's because it's necessarily too complicated either. It seems more like the director had no patience for conveying information to the audience. There are key pieces of exposition early on which are never referenced again and that you could easily miss if you aren't laser focused from minute one. This is a problem throughout the film and it's not even limited to expository dialogue. There is one scene in particular when two characters are having what I assume was a deadly showdown. Again, visually very nice. The problem though, was that I couldn't tell who one of the character's was, if they had been mentioned/featured in the film previously, or why the fight was even really happening to begin with.
It's honestly really frustrating, because this film seems to squander so much of the potential I see in the visual elements for reasons that I can't understand. The incomprehensible nature of the story is frankly needless, and I think it severely limits the amount of people who can truly enjoy it. I like a lot of it, and I might watch it again in the future. I think before I recommend it though, I should preface that recommendation by saying that you can't let your attention falter for even a moment, lest you lose track of the narrative completely.
It looks absolutely gorgeous. The cinematography and production design are really top notch. If I were to judge the merits of this film based purely on its visuals, then I think I'd give it something closer to a 9 or 10. The visuals also comprise some of the best parts of the story telling. Occasionally the film will present an image without context, only to later have the meaning of that image revealed by a character in whatever dialogue driven scene will directly follow that image. It's pretty neat and adds an nice component to the visual splendor beyond simply the surface level appeal.
This element of the visual element of the film though, does hint at what is probably this film's greatest weakness. In the same way that one can become really confused when viewing some of the key images without their meaning revealed until after their presentation, the story of the film as a whole is potentially incomprehensible. I don't think it's because it's necessarily too complicated either. It seems more like the director had no patience for conveying information to the audience. There are key pieces of exposition early on which are never referenced again and that you could easily miss if you aren't laser focused from minute one. This is a problem throughout the film and it's not even limited to expository dialogue. There is one scene in particular when two characters are having what I assume was a deadly showdown. Again, visually very nice. The problem though, was that I couldn't tell who one of the character's was, if they had been mentioned/featured in the film previously, or why the fight was even really happening to begin with.
It's honestly really frustrating, because this film seems to squander so much of the potential I see in the visual elements for reasons that I can't understand. The incomprehensible nature of the story is frankly needless, and I think it severely limits the amount of people who can truly enjoy it. I like a lot of it, and I might watch it again in the future. I think before I recommend it though, I should preface that recommendation by saying that you can't let your attention falter for even a moment, lest you lose track of the narrative completely.
- gingerrdriley
- Mar 22, 2017
- Permalink
sublime depiction of the way of Tao
On the slow side
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is one of those directors the mere mention of whose name sends filmsnobs into paroxysms of pleasure. 'The Assassin' is the first of his films that I myself have seen, and I've got to say I have mixed feelings.
I was attracted to the film by the set designs featured in the trailer, and these are fantastic: lush, richly-detailed, lavish reproductions of nobles' palaces and peasants' hovels. The costumes are similarly splendid. The natural scenery is spectacular also, with Hou taking full advantage of the endless steep wooded hillsides of his Far Eastern filming locations.
But oh, the pace of the film is slow. Far too often, Hou allows his camera to linger, unmoving, on a particular subject that is doing nothing - certainly not adding anything to the story. This may be because of the sparse nature of the plot - a young woman in ninth century China, raised from childhood to be an assassin, is sent back to her native Weibo to assassinate her cousin, the region's governor. Once there she gets caught up in some palace intrigue, but it's all sketched out very lightly and, to be honest, for some of the time I was having trouble staying awake.
But those sets *are* gorgeous...
I was attracted to the film by the set designs featured in the trailer, and these are fantastic: lush, richly-detailed, lavish reproductions of nobles' palaces and peasants' hovels. The costumes are similarly splendid. The natural scenery is spectacular also, with Hou taking full advantage of the endless steep wooded hillsides of his Far Eastern filming locations.
But oh, the pace of the film is slow. Far too often, Hou allows his camera to linger, unmoving, on a particular subject that is doing nothing - certainly not adding anything to the story. This may be because of the sparse nature of the plot - a young woman in ninth century China, raised from childhood to be an assassin, is sent back to her native Weibo to assassinate her cousin, the region's governor. Once there she gets caught up in some palace intrigue, but it's all sketched out very lightly and, to be honest, for some of the time I was having trouble staying awake.
But those sets *are* gorgeous...
exploring spirituality
Almost eight years after his last film, acclaimed auteur Hou Hsiao- Hsien was named best director in the last Cannes festival. This is a Tang Dynasty-inspired historical drama, taking place in the ninth- century China, with a woman called Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi) acting as the called Assassin. She is very capable with martial arts and knives and her last mission (ordered by her nun mentor) is to kill her beloved cousin. To be honest, I couldn't exactly follow the story, as the script was empty of meaning and character development. Hou is an absolute minimalist and fond of repeating patterns, giving its film a poetic premise. The cinematography is great (Ping Bin Lee/ In the Mood for Love) and only the visuals represent the bitter emotional complexes of the movie. The pace is sleepy, the actors do not have much to do and the director describes the whole story as if he was in a dreamy delirium: presenting to us multiple versions of the same scene, that seem to happen with no logic and in undefined time.
- kazanipouvrazei
- Dec 28, 2015
- Permalink
unique and breath-taking
Many of the audience will not find this movie to be much flattering. Even in China, where the cultural barriers are not supposed to be a big problem, lots of people fall into sleep in the cinema. But there are still some fans of this movie, just like me.
1). Actually it has a quite complete story, which is about politics. In history of China, the tension between the central control and the local force has always been a problem for thousands of years. Weibo, the place where the story happens, has witnessed two different political forces fighting with each other. One group, inclined to make peace with the central court, includes Nie Yinniang and her family. The other group, inclined to the strengthening of local power, includes the wife of the lord (their marriage is a political alliance at the beginning, the same with the marriage of the lord's princess mother). As a fan who always love dramas of political fights, I quite fancy this story.
2). Tang Dynasty has always been a fantasy to most Chinese people. With a frequent communication with different ethics and civilizations, Tang's culture was quite inclusive, and even a little bit exotic for Chinese people. While most shoddy TV plays and films fail to represent Tang's lifestyle, this film presents not only the dazzling costumes and dances, but also original Tang Style's architecture. All those elements make the film attractive.
3). The film's pacing is very slow, and the actions of characters are very simple. The dominance in the shots is shared by natural elements, such as wind, smoke, fog, etc. The way how natural scenes are unfolded, as well as how people are embedded in the space, follows a pattern of classical Chinese poetries and paintings. People who love Chinese poetries and paintings would certainly like this film.
1). Actually it has a quite complete story, which is about politics. In history of China, the tension between the central control and the local force has always been a problem for thousands of years. Weibo, the place where the story happens, has witnessed two different political forces fighting with each other. One group, inclined to make peace with the central court, includes Nie Yinniang and her family. The other group, inclined to the strengthening of local power, includes the wife of the lord (their marriage is a political alliance at the beginning, the same with the marriage of the lord's princess mother). As a fan who always love dramas of political fights, I quite fancy this story.
2). Tang Dynasty has always been a fantasy to most Chinese people. With a frequent communication with different ethics and civilizations, Tang's culture was quite inclusive, and even a little bit exotic for Chinese people. While most shoddy TV plays and films fail to represent Tang's lifestyle, this film presents not only the dazzling costumes and dances, but also original Tang Style's architecture. All those elements make the film attractive.
3). The film's pacing is very slow, and the actions of characters are very simple. The dominance in the shots is shared by natural elements, such as wind, smoke, fog, etc. The way how natural scenes are unfolded, as well as how people are embedded in the space, follows a pattern of classical Chinese poetries and paintings. People who love Chinese poetries and paintings would certainly like this film.
- tianwaifeizhu9090960
- Aug 27, 2015
- Permalink
A Never-Ending, Sleep-Inducing Period Piece Disguised As A Martial Arts Flick
There is absolutely no denying that The Assassin is one of the most beautiful looking films ever made for every frame of it qualifies as a masterwork of breathtaking photography. But there is also no denying that it is an insufferably boring film for just being able to sit through this picture is no mere achievement in itself.
Set in 8th century China during the Tang Dynasty, The Assassin follows Nie Yinniang; an exceptionally skilled assassin who was raised by a nun from the age of ten and kills on her command. But when she fails to perform her duties on one occasion, she is tasked with a ruthless mission that requires her to kill the man she was once betrothed to.
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin may give the impression of a martial arts movie but in actuality, it is more a period piece than anything else. Hou's direction is impressive when it comes to staging the shots, choosing the locations & capturing every image in an aesthetic, artistic & intimate manner but as far as story goes, this is cinema on a standstill.
The plot relies on minimal dialogues and is visually narrated. And although there is nothing wrong with that method, the immensely slow pace at which its events unfold is going to infuriate many. Nothing happens in the movie for the most part as camera simply pans from one end to another and whatever little action does exist, it's all very short-lived & scattered all over.
From the technical standpoint, The Assassin is virtually flawless. Throughout its runtime, the images retain its sharpness, clarity & piercing quality. Cinematography is truly a highlight for every moment is expertly staged, beautifully shot & the colour composition is wonderful. The camera may appear static but it's almost always in motion, the lighting is ideal, and I've got nothing but praise for this particular aspect.
Even the costumes, make-up & production design exhibit a meticulous amount of research that went into the period it tries to bring alive on the screen. Coming to the performances, the only one worth a mention is Shu Qi who plays the eponymous assassin in an incredibly calm, composed & balanced manner and manages to express her character's inner turmoil really well plus she's finely supported by the rest of the cast.
On an overall scale, The Assassin deserves full marks for its mind-blowing cinematography alone but the stillness of its plot, lack of action, tranquillising pace & lifeless characters turn it into an excruciating viewing experience. While I'm certain that there's an audience for this kind of storytelling, I'm equally sure that I'm not one of them. All in all, it is difficult to not fall in love with its imagery but its sleep-inducing narration that goes on for eternity ultimately destroys it for me.
P.S. On an unrelated note, this could actually cure my insomnia!
Set in 8th century China during the Tang Dynasty, The Assassin follows Nie Yinniang; an exceptionally skilled assassin who was raised by a nun from the age of ten and kills on her command. But when she fails to perform her duties on one occasion, she is tasked with a ruthless mission that requires her to kill the man she was once betrothed to.
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin may give the impression of a martial arts movie but in actuality, it is more a period piece than anything else. Hou's direction is impressive when it comes to staging the shots, choosing the locations & capturing every image in an aesthetic, artistic & intimate manner but as far as story goes, this is cinema on a standstill.
The plot relies on minimal dialogues and is visually narrated. And although there is nothing wrong with that method, the immensely slow pace at which its events unfold is going to infuriate many. Nothing happens in the movie for the most part as camera simply pans from one end to another and whatever little action does exist, it's all very short-lived & scattered all over.
From the technical standpoint, The Assassin is virtually flawless. Throughout its runtime, the images retain its sharpness, clarity & piercing quality. Cinematography is truly a highlight for every moment is expertly staged, beautifully shot & the colour composition is wonderful. The camera may appear static but it's almost always in motion, the lighting is ideal, and I've got nothing but praise for this particular aspect.
Even the costumes, make-up & production design exhibit a meticulous amount of research that went into the period it tries to bring alive on the screen. Coming to the performances, the only one worth a mention is Shu Qi who plays the eponymous assassin in an incredibly calm, composed & balanced manner and manages to express her character's inner turmoil really well plus she's finely supported by the rest of the cast.
On an overall scale, The Assassin deserves full marks for its mind-blowing cinematography alone but the stillness of its plot, lack of action, tranquillising pace & lifeless characters turn it into an excruciating viewing experience. While I'm certain that there's an audience for this kind of storytelling, I'm equally sure that I'm not one of them. All in all, it is difficult to not fall in love with its imagery but its sleep-inducing narration that goes on for eternity ultimately destroys it for me.
P.S. On an unrelated note, this could actually cure my insomnia!
- CinemaClown
- Dec 13, 2015
- Permalink
Great if you are a film student, rather lost on you if you are not
Birdman was a weird movie that was filled with stellar performances and nuanced scenes. It won at the Oscars because it was a film about film and theater makers, but few regular people actually got it at the level it was meant to. Even so, it was a great film on several levels.
I say this because The Assassin is kind of the same, but not giving a damn if you understand or not what is going on. The scenes are beautiful and I am sure filled with significance that grows the more Chinese you are or the more versed you are in the "art of the scene". For the regular viewer, though, is a very slow story related to Chinese characters that kind of dress the same, look the same and rarely say anything. When they do say something, they choose the minimal amount of words to convey nuanced meaning - which are then translated to English.
An adaptation of a Chinese story that has little to do with anything but the beginning of the film, this is more about the inner world of the girl assassin as portrayed by beautiful scenery and slow, calm, cricket noise filled sound. Or at least I think it is. I might be wrong.
Bottom line: great action scenes, all 4 or 5 of them. They all last for a few seconds each. Great dialogue, the 20 or so lines in all the movie. Fantastic nature shots and historically accurate decor, in the rest of the film. Not a film you will hate, but imagine you are watching people you can't distinguish one from another and that are prone to fight for a minute before they say anything... if they even do.
I say this because The Assassin is kind of the same, but not giving a damn if you understand or not what is going on. The scenes are beautiful and I am sure filled with significance that grows the more Chinese you are or the more versed you are in the "art of the scene". For the regular viewer, though, is a very slow story related to Chinese characters that kind of dress the same, look the same and rarely say anything. When they do say something, they choose the minimal amount of words to convey nuanced meaning - which are then translated to English.
An adaptation of a Chinese story that has little to do with anything but the beginning of the film, this is more about the inner world of the girl assassin as portrayed by beautiful scenery and slow, calm, cricket noise filled sound. Or at least I think it is. I might be wrong.
Bottom line: great action scenes, all 4 or 5 of them. They all last for a few seconds each. Great dialogue, the 20 or so lines in all the movie. Fantastic nature shots and historically accurate decor, in the rest of the film. Not a film you will hate, but imagine you are watching people you can't distinguish one from another and that are prone to fight for a minute before they say anything... if they even do.
Very very confusing
I consider myself a person who usually does not have a hard time understanding what is going on in movies - even the ones that require some thought from the viewer :) But during this movie, I almost never knew what was going on. It sounds absurd when I say it - but in many of the later scenes of the movie, I really did not know who the characters were or what they were trying to accomplish.
The pace of the movie is extremely slow, that could have been acceptable if it was made in a good way - which unfortunately is not the case.
The action sequences are well done and I cant fault the acting, but that does not save this terrible movie.
The pace of the movie is extremely slow, that could have been acceptable if it was made in a good way - which unfortunately is not the case.
The action sequences are well done and I cant fault the acting, but that does not save this terrible movie.
- svanholm-359-684511
- Jan 27, 2016
- Permalink
if you're only interested in fighting and killing, this might not be the film for you
I'm surprised by the bad reviews on IMDb. I think the problem is that a film titled "The Assassin" happens to attract a certain type of audience--people who are only interested in martial arts flicks, or who walk in expecting an action-packed adrenaline ride. You might be disappointed in this film, but I don't think this movie was meant for you.
A previous review mentioned the "depressed, stilted tones" of the actors.
I don't know what you were expecting ... an assassin during the Tang Dynasty to burst out into song about her inner anguish and emotional turmoil? I watched an interview with Hou Hsiao-hsien, the director who won the prestigious Best Director award at Cannes for this very film. He used a tennis analogy to explain it perfectly, so I'm just going to paraphrase below:
"If you watch the tennis greats like Federer or Nadal battling it out, there's not much expression on their faces. The speed that they're going at, the power in each exchange, there's no room for emotions."
The director, Hou, actually instructed Shu Qi (The Assassin) to tone down her expressions. The crew filmed the fight sequences again, and again, and again, until the actors were all bruised up and the fight flowed naturally, by instinct. By this point, there was really no need for dialogue or excessive expressions.
If you're an assassin fighting for your life, kill or be killed, are you really going to be thinking "let me get my blue steel pout ready for the camera"?
If you can get over the need for overly dramatic expositions and go into a film knowing the main character only has approximately nine spoken lines, and if you can enjoy a film for how starkly beautiful it is.... this might be the film for you.
A previous review mentioned the "depressed, stilted tones" of the actors.
I don't know what you were expecting ... an assassin during the Tang Dynasty to burst out into song about her inner anguish and emotional turmoil? I watched an interview with Hou Hsiao-hsien, the director who won the prestigious Best Director award at Cannes for this very film. He used a tennis analogy to explain it perfectly, so I'm just going to paraphrase below:
"If you watch the tennis greats like Federer or Nadal battling it out, there's not much expression on their faces. The speed that they're going at, the power in each exchange, there's no room for emotions."
The director, Hou, actually instructed Shu Qi (The Assassin) to tone down her expressions. The crew filmed the fight sequences again, and again, and again, until the actors were all bruised up and the fight flowed naturally, by instinct. By this point, there was really no need for dialogue or excessive expressions.
If you're an assassin fighting for your life, kill or be killed, are you really going to be thinking "let me get my blue steel pout ready for the camera"?
If you can get over the need for overly dramatic expositions and go into a film knowing the main character only has approximately nine spoken lines, and if you can enjoy a film for how starkly beautiful it is.... this might be the film for you.
Lush Cinematography, Stately Paced, Stylistic Action
The images in The Assassin are like a massive coffee table book that you swear you'll open some day: Beautiful, lush, even overwhelming.
The pace doesn't suit a typical American audience, however. The action sequences are too infrequent, too much like ballet, too beautiful, and with too little blood, to satisfy the palates of my countrymen.
There are many quiet scenes--of vast landscapes, of sick old men, of beautiful women and children--that are almost as still as portraits but for the flutter of veils, drifts of smoke, and the sway of trees against a sky of wandering clouds.
A few of you will enjoy this film, appreciate its sensibilities and splendor. Too many, however, may leave the theater confused or lost as to what just transpired.
The pace doesn't suit a typical American audience, however. The action sequences are too infrequent, too much like ballet, too beautiful, and with too little blood, to satisfy the palates of my countrymen.
There are many quiet scenes--of vast landscapes, of sick old men, of beautiful women and children--that are almost as still as portraits but for the flutter of veils, drifts of smoke, and the sway of trees against a sky of wandering clouds.
A few of you will enjoy this film, appreciate its sensibilities and splendor. Too many, however, may leave the theater confused or lost as to what just transpired.
- JPMDatIMDB
- Oct 31, 2015
- Permalink
You are going to need a lot of patience to finish this one
- KineticSeoul
- Oct 18, 2015
- Permalink
A different kind of Wuxia
Probably the best way to watch "The Assassin" is to play it as 1.5 times the speed. On a serious note, the film takes Wuxia to an entirely different level. If Ozu had made Wuxia films then probably those films would have looked something like "The Assassin". Watching the film is like studying a life in slow motion. While the detailing is meticulous, the storytelling style can best be described as tedious. The action sequences, although beautifully choreographed, are minimalistic in style.
In her third collaboration with the master Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Shu Qi delivers a mesmerizing performance while playing a part that's tender and feral in equal parts. It's difficult to detest the ferocious killer she has become. It's difficult not to fall in love with the assassin who once was a princess. It's difficult not to be in awe of Hou Hsiao-Hsien after watching the film. It's difficult to wipe off the images from one's mind long after the end credits begin to roll. It's difficult to watch it just once.
For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges".
In her third collaboration with the master Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Shu Qi delivers a mesmerizing performance while playing a part that's tender and feral in equal parts. It's difficult to detest the ferocious killer she has become. It's difficult not to fall in love with the assassin who once was a princess. It's difficult not to be in awe of Hou Hsiao-Hsien after watching the film. It's difficult to wipe off the images from one's mind long after the end credits begin to roll. It's difficult to watch it just once.
For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges".
- murtaza_mma
- Oct 18, 2015
- Permalink
Slow Boat From China
- writers_reign
- Jan 21, 2016
- Permalink
Moving Picture
This is a film made by a cinephile for a cinephile
The Assassin (刺客聂隐娘) won Hou Hsiao-Hsien (henceforth HHH) the Best Director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. This being a HHH film means that every scene is laden with meaning and metaphors. Sometimes shots will linger far longer than you need them to be and at other times shots will cut away faster than you thought they should. Dialogue is sparse but dense. Gaps are all over the narrative but HHH expects you to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. That means this is a wuxia film that doesn't tell the usual rip-roaring story with heightened music cues dictating how you should think. Hold your horses for Ip Man 3 in December for the usual cookie-cutter plot-lines. The Assassin will need you to put on your thinking cap.
HHH has distilled the lonely life of an assassin with stiletto focus, but without the clarity, in Academy 4:3 aspect ratio except for a few shots. This is a slow-burn of a film that has no regard for pace, but with total cognizance for equilibrium, tempo and rhythm. The shot composition is breathtaking without calling attention to itself. This is a feast for the eyes and succor for the soul. A day has passed since I saw it but some of the exquisite shots continue to linger in my mind, like the shot through flowing silk curtains and crackling candles. One of the final shots of the nun standing on a mountain top overlooking a breathtaking view of the valley completely took my breath away. Yinniang walks towards her and kneels down to pay her final respects, and the clouds at that precise moment envelop everything. HHH must have waited to get that one perfect beguiling long take, which is simply ravishing and resplendent.
Narratively and thematically, the film is determinedly inert, but it is never to its detriment. If you have seen HHH's films, you would know there is one way to watch movies and there is the HHH's way of watching one. For anyone not clued in to HHH's films, it would seem that The Assassin is stylistically fastidious, exasperatingly opaque and it could easily put anyone into a slumber, especially when action scenes are few and far in between. HHH's characters glide in and out with a lot of grace and posturing, but never with any falsity. I have to confess that I did find it at times frustrating and nearly nodded off a few times. However I kept my attention as sharp as I could because every shot is just beautiful to ogle at, even if the meaning feels elusive. The fun comes later. Over lunch my wife and I deconstructed the film and filled in the gaps. I cannot tell you how fun an exercise that is, especially when you are with the right partner.
The film excites us with words not spoken and actions not played out in the usual resolution. The Assassin is a game of sustaining every narrative element in the perfect stasis of mood and rhythm, and Hou Hsiao Hsien is the game master.
HHH has distilled the lonely life of an assassin with stiletto focus, but without the clarity, in Academy 4:3 aspect ratio except for a few shots. This is a slow-burn of a film that has no regard for pace, but with total cognizance for equilibrium, tempo and rhythm. The shot composition is breathtaking without calling attention to itself. This is a feast for the eyes and succor for the soul. A day has passed since I saw it but some of the exquisite shots continue to linger in my mind, like the shot through flowing silk curtains and crackling candles. One of the final shots of the nun standing on a mountain top overlooking a breathtaking view of the valley completely took my breath away. Yinniang walks towards her and kneels down to pay her final respects, and the clouds at that precise moment envelop everything. HHH must have waited to get that one perfect beguiling long take, which is simply ravishing and resplendent.
Narratively and thematically, the film is determinedly inert, but it is never to its detriment. If you have seen HHH's films, you would know there is one way to watch movies and there is the HHH's way of watching one. For anyone not clued in to HHH's films, it would seem that The Assassin is stylistically fastidious, exasperatingly opaque and it could easily put anyone into a slumber, especially when action scenes are few and far in between. HHH's characters glide in and out with a lot of grace and posturing, but never with any falsity. I have to confess that I did find it at times frustrating and nearly nodded off a few times. However I kept my attention as sharp as I could because every shot is just beautiful to ogle at, even if the meaning feels elusive. The fun comes later. Over lunch my wife and I deconstructed the film and filled in the gaps. I cannot tell you how fun an exercise that is, especially when you are with the right partner.
The film excites us with words not spoken and actions not played out in the usual resolution. The Assassin is a game of sustaining every narrative element in the perfect stasis of mood and rhythm, and Hou Hsiao Hsien is the game master.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
I adore Eastern Cinema. Japanese horror, Korean action, Wuxia, Magical Realism, I love them all. OK, I'm not a huge fan of "wire-fu", but for the most part eastern cinema is a visual feast that I love to gorge on. Exquisite costuming and hardcore female protagonists thrill me – whether it's science fiction or a historical drama, it rocks my world. So I was all set to be wow'ed by Taiwanese Auteur Director, Hsiao- Hsien Hou's latest work, The Assassin; The true story of Nie Yunniang, a female assassin that lived during the decline of the Tang Dynasty in 9th Century China (are you listening Ubisoft?).
Nie Yinniang, played by Qi Shu (The Transporter) was betrothed to marry her cousin, Tian Ji'an, played by Chen Chang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) she was given to a Taoist Nun when she was ten because, "reasons". Since then, she has spent the rest of her life learning from the Nun how to become an assassin. When Yinniang fails to kill her target, the Nun believes she needs to toughen up and sends Yinniang to her to her childhood province to kill the man she was betrothed to 13 years ago.
Hou has dreamed of making a wuxia film since he was in High School, and now that he's 68 his childhood dream has finally come true. The Assassin is obviously a labour of love for Hou, but it is a Herculean labour to watch this film through to the end.
I love that Hou used minimal wire-work so that the grace characters display as they leap into action is presented as effortless ability rather than the obviously fake hovering through the air that dominates many wuxia and magical realism films. But sadly, that's one of the only good thing I can say about the film.
The Assassin has received a lot of rave reviews from critics that talk about the reverie of seeing landscapes and characters that strike static poses like they're characters in a painting, and these reviews have in turn been criticized by the public for being a case of "the Emperor's New Clothes". Hou's directing style is to storyboard his film first and to then make his script fit the locations where he wants to shoot. In theory, this should give a story that is grounded in the "show don't tell" philosophy of filmmaking, but instead it has resulted in a film where landscapes more important than the story and what little story there is feels weak and underdeveloped. Perhaps the Cannes Jury wanted to reward Directors that take new approaches to filmmaking, but what I saw was a film with a weak premise that was dominated with; shots that were poorly lit, shots that were out of focus, shots with glacial pans for no foreseeable reason, followed by a cut to another angle (just to prove to us that the pan was indeed pointless), shots with background noises that stood out more than they should have, and fight scenes with jarring sound effects to tell us when a decisive strike was made because otherwise there would be no way to tell why people were suddenly no longer fighting each other.
I'm not sure why Hou thought that I had to look at a balcony while a guard walked on, walked off, then came back and then walked off again. There was a pretty roof in the background, but seriously, 45 seconds to show all that, with no clue as to what he was doing or looking at seems disrespectful of the audience's time rather than masterful directing.
I walked out of the cinema feeling like I'd watched a four-hour film, only to be told by the rest of the world that only two hours had gone by. Is Hou a Time Lord? Did I just have a Time And Relative Dimension In Space experience and not realise it?
I started to wonder if I was unfairly placing my western film literacy standards on an eastern film, but then I thought about the countless examples of Asian films that are beautifully lit, framed and in perfect focus.
500,000' of 35mm film that was used to shoot the Assassin, which bloated the budget to $15M USD – and not all of this has been made back in box office sales. The Assassin has had record number of walk outs during screenings in China – which was a hard sell to begin with given the animosity between Taiwan and Mainland China. However, The Assassin's opening at the Toronto Film Festival also resulted in walk outs (in Canada, a country renounced for having the most polite people in the world). It's pretty telling when a film's total Box Office takings from screenings in North America was reportedly little over $390,000 USD gross. To put this in perspective, The Big Lebowski also had a budget of $15M and it is considered to be a Box Office Flop for only bringing in $5.5M in its opening night.
I didn't see the trailer until after I had seen the film, and now that I have I can't help but feel that maybe the trailer contributed to the large number of walk outs the film experienced; if people were expecting a wuxia film called The Assassin to feature a heroic story that is packed with action as featured in the trailer, then it's no wonder that they were disappointed because that is not what the Assassin is.
If you're familiar with Hou's previous works than you may appreciate The Assassin. I wanted to like it, but my unreasonable western desire to see a film that is in focus means that the Assassin really wasn't my thing. Buyer beware.
This review was published by The Northsider: http://thenorthsider.com.au/film- review-the-assassin/
Nie Yinniang, played by Qi Shu (The Transporter) was betrothed to marry her cousin, Tian Ji'an, played by Chen Chang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) she was given to a Taoist Nun when she was ten because, "reasons". Since then, she has spent the rest of her life learning from the Nun how to become an assassin. When Yinniang fails to kill her target, the Nun believes she needs to toughen up and sends Yinniang to her to her childhood province to kill the man she was betrothed to 13 years ago.
Hou has dreamed of making a wuxia film since he was in High School, and now that he's 68 his childhood dream has finally come true. The Assassin is obviously a labour of love for Hou, but it is a Herculean labour to watch this film through to the end.
I love that Hou used minimal wire-work so that the grace characters display as they leap into action is presented as effortless ability rather than the obviously fake hovering through the air that dominates many wuxia and magical realism films. But sadly, that's one of the only good thing I can say about the film.
The Assassin has received a lot of rave reviews from critics that talk about the reverie of seeing landscapes and characters that strike static poses like they're characters in a painting, and these reviews have in turn been criticized by the public for being a case of "the Emperor's New Clothes". Hou's directing style is to storyboard his film first and to then make his script fit the locations where he wants to shoot. In theory, this should give a story that is grounded in the "show don't tell" philosophy of filmmaking, but instead it has resulted in a film where landscapes more important than the story and what little story there is feels weak and underdeveloped. Perhaps the Cannes Jury wanted to reward Directors that take new approaches to filmmaking, but what I saw was a film with a weak premise that was dominated with; shots that were poorly lit, shots that were out of focus, shots with glacial pans for no foreseeable reason, followed by a cut to another angle (just to prove to us that the pan was indeed pointless), shots with background noises that stood out more than they should have, and fight scenes with jarring sound effects to tell us when a decisive strike was made because otherwise there would be no way to tell why people were suddenly no longer fighting each other.
I'm not sure why Hou thought that I had to look at a balcony while a guard walked on, walked off, then came back and then walked off again. There was a pretty roof in the background, but seriously, 45 seconds to show all that, with no clue as to what he was doing or looking at seems disrespectful of the audience's time rather than masterful directing.
I walked out of the cinema feeling like I'd watched a four-hour film, only to be told by the rest of the world that only two hours had gone by. Is Hou a Time Lord? Did I just have a Time And Relative Dimension In Space experience and not realise it?
I started to wonder if I was unfairly placing my western film literacy standards on an eastern film, but then I thought about the countless examples of Asian films that are beautifully lit, framed and in perfect focus.
500,000' of 35mm film that was used to shoot the Assassin, which bloated the budget to $15M USD – and not all of this has been made back in box office sales. The Assassin has had record number of walk outs during screenings in China – which was a hard sell to begin with given the animosity between Taiwan and Mainland China. However, The Assassin's opening at the Toronto Film Festival also resulted in walk outs (in Canada, a country renounced for having the most polite people in the world). It's pretty telling when a film's total Box Office takings from screenings in North America was reportedly little over $390,000 USD gross. To put this in perspective, The Big Lebowski also had a budget of $15M and it is considered to be a Box Office Flop for only bringing in $5.5M in its opening night.
I didn't see the trailer until after I had seen the film, and now that I have I can't help but feel that maybe the trailer contributed to the large number of walk outs the film experienced; if people were expecting a wuxia film called The Assassin to feature a heroic story that is packed with action as featured in the trailer, then it's no wonder that they were disappointed because that is not what the Assassin is.
If you're familiar with Hou's previous works than you may appreciate The Assassin. I wanted to like it, but my unreasonable western desire to see a film that is in focus means that the Assassin really wasn't my thing. Buyer beware.
This review was published by The Northsider: http://thenorthsider.com.au/film- review-the-assassin/
I love this one
This movie is not a very commercialised one, meaning it might not be directed in the way that most people can easily understand. The ancient Chinese language is hard to follow even for Chinese audience, let alone the audience from other cultures.
Bur personally I really love this movie, as it's just like a Chinese poem or painting, which expresses the emotions all in a very conceptialised way. And the acting is neat and minimal, being consistent with filming style.
It's the culture based aesthetic value and artistic style that make this movie unique.
Bur personally I really love this movie, as it's just like a Chinese poem or painting, which expresses the emotions all in a very conceptialised way. And the acting is neat and minimal, being consistent with filming style.
It's the culture based aesthetic value and artistic style that make this movie unique.
More Drama than Action, and I felt a miscommunication with the drama
I'll be honest, with a name like The Assassin, I was expecting a movie that leaned more towards the action than it did the drama but that's not what happen.
Not that I'm not open minded, but I was expecting something I did not get and the movie did not deliver anything else to live up to that, or maybe I just could not grasp what was going on cause of how stretched out it was.
It's was only around 90 mins long, but it was so dull and so drawn out that it felt like I was sitting there for an eternity.
Normally, I would appreciate a foreign film that you did not need subtitles to understand, but there were too many times where the charters said nothing for long periods of time and I lost focus of what was going on.
The movie was beautiful, especially when it came to the costumes and the music, but I felt like I was watching a watered down Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Too slow in the pace and it made it pointless. Not for you if you prefer a Kung fu flick.
Not that I'm not open minded, but I was expecting something I did not get and the movie did not deliver anything else to live up to that, or maybe I just could not grasp what was going on cause of how stretched out it was.
It's was only around 90 mins long, but it was so dull and so drawn out that it felt like I was sitting there for an eternity.
Normally, I would appreciate a foreign film that you did not need subtitles to understand, but there were too many times where the charters said nothing for long periods of time and I lost focus of what was going on.
The movie was beautiful, especially when it came to the costumes and the music, but I felt like I was watching a watered down Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Too slow in the pace and it made it pointless. Not for you if you prefer a Kung fu flick.
- subxerogravity
- Nov 30, 2015
- Permalink
Ancient Chinese Secret Not Revealed
- marsanobill
- Jan 4, 2016
- Permalink
Gorgeous film.
Marvelous but unintelligible
The movie is filmed with a very good hand in camera, direction, saturated in color and b/w scenes, all is almost perfect.
Not too much fantasy, apart some very few jumps or hops that land feather like but none of the impossible kung-fu moves we are accustomed in last 20 or more years of martial arts movies.
Dialogues are very little, another custom of those kind of movies.
Nonetheless, trying to pay the maximum attention to movie and words (captions), I ended up without barely understanding who's who and what's going on. Names and characters are not made clear and obvious visually and namely.
So, even if the movie itself is very enjoyable and recommendable for the visual part, it becomes unintelligible (and so a bit boring) for the plot part. A pity.
Yes it is pretty! But it is too slow and the camera lingers on nothing for too long.
I was to bored to finish it so it gets a 1.
Pretty film. But that is not enough.
It is like the director maintained static shots for too long and then doubled the length of time just to be extra annoying.
Just because the it is deliberately over slowed does not make it an art house film.
The dialogue is inadequate, the continuity terrible. It could have been great but the director has over worked it to try and make it "culty" or "arty". It just does not work.
Don't watch it unless you want to sleep.
All this said and done it might be more fun in an IMAX where the enormous prettiness might be worth it.
Pretty film. But that is not enough.
It is like the director maintained static shots for too long and then doubled the length of time just to be extra annoying.
Just because the it is deliberately over slowed does not make it an art house film.
The dialogue is inadequate, the continuity terrible. It could have been great but the director has over worked it to try and make it "culty" or "arty". It just does not work.
Don't watch it unless you want to sleep.
All this said and done it might be more fun in an IMAX where the enormous prettiness might be worth it.
- paul-56400
- Nov 7, 2015
- Permalink