Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin (Wuxia Epic Starring Shu Qi)

[jvince]

Director:
Hou Hsiao-hsien

Stars:
Shu Qi
Chang Chen

Originally Posted by Variety

...a mesmerizing slow burn of a martial-arts movie that boldly merges stasis and kinesis, turns momentum into abstraction, and achieves breathtaking new heights of compositional elegance: Shot for shot, it’s perhaps the most ravishingly beautiful film Hou has ever made, and certainly one of his most deeply transporting.

Originally Posted by The Playlist

These are pictures that feel like time (which will make them hard to sit through for the impatient) — they feel steeped, marinated in time, as though Hou has waited, not 25 years, but eleven centuries with his camera parked on this hillside or beside that thatched barn, to get just exactly the right combination of light and cloud and movement and stillness, just the right fall of a sleeve or tremble of a drape in the breeze... "The Assassin" is the literal embodiment of the rewards, for the film and for the viewer, of patience and held breath. [A-]

Originally Posted by A.V. Club

Here, Hou takes wuxia, the most over-played genre in Chinese fiction and film, and makes it seem completely unfamiliar, without subverting any of its outsize gestures or values. In certain respects the most conventional movie Hou has made in decades, The Assassin is also enigmatic in ways some will find absolutely mesmerizing, and others might think is infuriating.

Originally Posted by The Hollywood Reporter

Its bursts of lightning-fast swordplay interrupt long, still stretches of misty moonlit landscapes and follow a pure literary style more than current genre expectations. Detailed period costumes and art direction make it extraordinarily beautiful to watch, but its refinement may weigh against it for fans hungering after spectacular kung fu.

[AaronJ]

On a scale of 1-10, my desire to see this is somewhere near 13. It sounds truly amazing. And some of the reviews and podcasts I have read/heard concerning it say that the plot will be somewhat incomprehensible, beyond the very surface level, to those not familiar with the cultural symbols and metaphors. That actually makes me want to see it even more!

I don't care how far I need to travel, or much I have to pay, I am seeing this on the big screen the very first day.

[pikeman1]

I'm always a fan of wuxia films and Shu Qi -> a must-see to me
This movie doesn't even get a trailer yet?

[Thomas Irwin]

It looks like the first trailer is due to be released today:

http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/05/16/3123s878994.htm

[Monterey Jack]

Shu Qi...those eyes, those lips.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by pikeman1

I'm always a fan of wuxia films and Shu Qi -> a must-see to me
This movie doesn't even get a trailer yet?

Well, considering that he's been developing the film for 25 years, and that it took just over 5 years in production to finish ... makes sense it would take a while for the trailer to come out.

Originally Posted by Thomas Irwin

It looks like the first trailer is due to be released today:

http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/05/16/3123s878994.htm

Good to hear!

[pikeman1]

Originally Posted by Thomas Irwin

It looks like the first trailer is due to be released today:

http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/05/16/3123s878994.htm

this article said "today" but it was posted on May 16th
so the trailer hasn't find a way online yet?

[pikeman1]

a clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymQvlTo0O_U

[pikeman1]

some more footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuggnspZ_RA

[AaronJ]

Hou Hsiao-Hsein was just announced as Best Director for The Assassin at Cannes.

To the surprise of exactly no one.

ETA: They just announced the Palme d'Or, and it did NOT go to The Assassin, but to Jacques Audiard's Dheepan. That's also not a surprise, since the Palme and the Best Director usually go to different films.

[pikeman1]

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8PMShcjRMU

[pikeman1]

full-length trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_LayrbjKI

[Ultra_Violence]

Can't wait for this. Looks glorious.

[pikeman1]

character posters

[Feed.Me.Moore]

I've read English reviews of the film (most of the ones in the OP along with a few others), and all of them have been glowing. Having said that, the reviewers tended to express their admiration for the technical aspects of the film, such as Hou's shot compositions, his use of silence, contrasting of stillness with motion, etc. In short, these reviewers sound like people who've studied film theory, not the Average Joe who wants simple escapism for a couple of hours.

That's why I find it strange that such a film would be released to the audiences of Mainland China. While those moviegoers would probably be familiar with the tale that The Assassin is based upon, it would be a bit of a stretch of the imagination to expect the majority of Chinese movie fans to boast the kind of film nerd cred that the English language reviewers have.

Chinese social media would certainly support the idea that Hou's film was not made for general consumption by mainlanders. My cousin does business in the Far East and shared some of the ‘comments from the common man’ that he found online. (These are translated from the original Chinese.)

‘The scenery was nice. That’s why I’m giving this movie a 1 out of 5.’

‘It’s pretentious nonsense.’

‘I hope one day Hou decides to make a movie for people who like movies.’

‘Good camerawork. Where's the story? Where are some characters that I can understand?’

‘This film shouldn't be shown in cinemas. It belongs in a private screening room filled with self-important critics and film snobs.’

‘There were about a hundred people who went to the screening of The Assassin that I attended. The group became smaller and smaller as the film went on. When the lights came on at the end, there were only three people still in their seats.’

‘Only Hou Hsiao Hsien knows what this movie is about.’

[BobbyMcGee]

Saw this a few days ago and I think you need to understand what you are getting yourself into before going to see this or you will probably hate it. Especially if slow moving films are not your cup of tea.

The film is a collection of beautiful imagery (landscapes, set design, costumes) held together by a basic, and at times a bit confusing, plot.

When the film started there were around 10 other people in the theater with me and by the end it was only me and one other person. Like I said, a very slow moving film.

Can't say that I loved it or anything but I also did not hate it. Visuals were nice and despite the slight and slow moving plot I was relatively entertained. But yeah, very slow film. Be aware.

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by BobbyMcGee

Saw this a few days ago and I think you need to understand what you are getting yourself into before going to see this or you will probably hate it. Especially if slow moving films are not your cup of tea.

The film is a collection of beautiful imagery (landscapes, set design, costumes) held together by a basic, and at times a bit confusing, plot.

When the film started there were around 10 other people in the theater with me and by the end it was only me and one other person. Like I said, a very slow moving film.

Can't say that I loved it or anything but I also did not hate it. Visuals were nice and despite the slight and slow moving plot I was relatively entertained. But yeah, very slow film. Be aware.

I couldn't even sit through the 2 minute, English dubbed, trailer before deciding to move along. It's a shame, too.

[Jasonic]

I saw this the other day as well, and I didn't care for it too much. I don't mind slow paced films. Foxcatcher and Sicario are a couple for example that I love. This isn't just slow paced, it's really really slow paced. A line of dialogue is spoken, and then they will just stare at each other for another couple minutes for no reason. You expect something to come after, but nope, just cuts to a whole other scene. Way too much prolonged camera stills that I personally do not feel add anything to the narrative nor the artistic beauty that the overall film does showcase. That is my biggest problem, that if the slow pace doesn't add to the narrative, that is fine, but it also does nothing when you have one long shot where your vision is blurred by a curtain for minutes on end. Otherwise, it's definitely a beautifully shot movie, and he knows how to direct some great action, unfortunately that is only about 2 minutes of the entire movie though. The movie is also surprisingly confusing for how slow paced it is. Read a short synopsis on it after having seen it and I wasn't even sure whether I watched the same movie based on it. There are those that really seem to love it though, so I guess it's just not for me.

Really love this poster though.
http://40.media.tumblr.com/5509d3e46...9e4o1_1280.jpg

[Hucksta G]

Originally Posted by Jasonic

I saw this the other day as well, and I didn't care for it too much. I don't mind slow paced films. Foxcatcher and Sicario are a couple for example that I love. This isn't just slow paced, it's really really slow paced. A line of dialogue is spoken, and then they will just stare at each other for another couple minutes for no reason. You expect something to come after, but nope, just cuts to a whole other scene. Way too much prolonged camera stills that I personally do not feel add anything to the narrative nor the artistic beauty that the overall film does showcase. That is my biggest problem, that if the slow pace doesn't add to the narrative, that is fine, but it also does nothing when you have one long shot where your vision is blurred by a curtain for minutes on end. Otherwise, it's definitely a beautifully shot movie, and he knows how to direct some great action, unfortunately that is only about 2 minutes of the entire movie though. The movie is also surprisingly confusing for how slow paced it is. Read a short synopsis on it after having seen it and I wasn't even sure whether I watched the same movie based on it. There are those that really seem to love it though, so I guess it's just not for me.

Really love this poster though.
http://40.media.tumblr.com/5509d3e46...9e4o1_1280.jpg

Yes, agree with everything you say there.

[Infernal King]

Sounds like yet another case of Western critics who absolutely adore a foreign film that most of the general audiences dislike. I was initially interested in this but now I'll avoid it.