I heard this was from an acclaimed director, and it had Shu Qi in it, so that made me look forward to watching this. I saw it in China, and a lot of international Chinese film have English subs, but I immediately found out that this didn't. Now it's not a dialogue heavy film at all, although it does have a few monologues, the plot itself is pretty weak. The selling point of the film is its visuals, and it sells it well. They are quite easily some of the best shots I've seen in film, and really let your thoughts sink in it. The cinematography embodies a very serene feeling. Especially because it's partnered with some great sounds as well. The film lacks a proper story telling, and instead it just feels like slideshow of scenic images coming to life, each scene taking from one shot. There's a few fight scenes in it, but those are probably what draw my biggest critique. They're shot so up-close, you don't really get any of the action, and that's just annoying. For the pacing of the film, they bring in pleasant action, but the execution is poor. The visually beautiful shots do make this film worth seeing. And Shu Qi, who plays the assassin with humbleness and sexyness.

B

I should preface with netflix sending me a dvd instead of a blu ray. That had me in a bad mood right from the start. Why do dvds still exist? However, I was still able to appreciate how good the film (and lead actress) looked. This was still a detriment to the only part of the film I liked though.

While the cinematography and production design are great, it wasn't enough. I didn't care about the story at all. I was never invested in any of the characters. And the film moves at such a glacial pace that I had already checked out by the time things finally started happening. This was a chore to watch.

So I will not be voting for The Assassin at the KJ awards, despite it being the only foreign film from 2015 I have seen.

The Assassin is light in words and dialogues. The only dialogues and monologues are spoken in largely ancient written form of the Chinese language, which is hard for one to follow. It is helpful to have the English subtitles option turned on.

The film has magnificent photography which sets the cool and detached mood of the period piece and communicates the internal yearning for isolation by the title character Assassin Nie Yin-Niang. Nie, played fittingly by Shu Qi, is not an assassin by choice. She, while at a young age, is sent away by her family to relieve her from the emotional aftermath of a broken promise of marriage to the future governor of the quasi-independent (from the imperial court) Weibo Circuit Tian Ji'an. She is raised by and receives martial arts training from a nun who is an assassin. She is tender-hearted; her "saintly virtue" makes her reluctant to kill her assigned targets who have young heirs. Her latest assignment is to kill her former betrothed Tian, who is now married for diplomatic purpose with young children. This forms the backstory of the lead character.

Veteran director Hou Hsiao-Hsien does not invest much in storytelling. Key characters like Tian, Tian's supposedly jealous and implicitly evil wife, and Tian Xing (who is banished by governor Tian) are introduced without the historical context given or the motives for their actions explained. I am not sure if the filmmakers intend for viewers to dig into the original text of the novel this movie is based on or to know some history about the Tang Dynasty before watching the movie. Because of this, I find the subplots involving Tian's wife and Tian Xing unappealing.

While weak in drama, the film is strong in imagery. The abundant use of wide shot makes the surrounding landscape as much a lead character as Nie. The slow-moving frame takes in images that feel still and calm, even for the fight scenes. These techniques let the viewer see the film from an objective distance. A classic demonstration of mise-en-scene. All but one scene is presented in a 4:3 format. The only scene that is in 1.85:1, I believe, carries the main theme of the movie. The blue bird metaphor in that scene sums up Nie's character well: the feeling of being alone in the world.

B