The Assassin (2015)
Release dates:28 August 2015
Country
China
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Movie Genre: Action, Thriller
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Directed by:Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Cast
Shu Qi
Chang Chen
Nikki Hsieh
Ethan Ruan
Zhou Yun
Satoshi Tsumabuki
Ethan Juan
Hsieh Hsin-Ying
Fang-Yi Sheu
Story
The Assassin (Chinese: 聶隱娘) is a 2015 martial arts film directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. A Taiwan-China-Hong Kong co-production, it was selected to be screened in the main competition section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, Hou won the award for Best Director. It was released in China on August 27, 2015.
Production
The film received several subsidies from the Taiwanese government: in 2005 of NT$15 million (US$501,000), in 2008 of NT$80 million (US$2.67 million) and in 2010 of NT$20 million (US$668,000). However, over the production, Hou encountered various budget problems; thus over half of the film's final budget came from China, a first for Hou. As of September 2012, its budget was CN¥90 million (US$14.9 million).
The film was filmed in several places in China, mainly in the Hubei province, Inner Mongolia and north-eastern China. Hou recalled that he was "blown away" when he saw "those silver birch forests and lakes: it was like being transported into a Chinese classical painting."
Reflecting on the film's long shooting period and a much bigger budget than his previous films, Hou stated "I haven't shot a movie in six or seven years. It's really a whole new world for me because the market is now so big, because of China. So the scale is much bigger, and that makes every detail different, so now even I have to adjust my scale."
Release
The film's first press conference since its Cannes premiere was held in Shanghai on June 16, 2015, where Hou and the film's cast discussed their Cannes experience and their upcoming promotional activities for the film.
The film premiered in Beijing on August 23, 2015, ahead of its wide release on August 27, 2015.
Reception
On Film Business Asia, Derek Elley gave it a 9 out of 10, saying that "Hou Hsiao-hsien's first wuxia masterfully blends the genre's essence and his own style". Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter said: "Hou Hsiao-Hsien brings a pure, idiosyncratic vision to the martial arts genre". Variety's chief film critic Justin Chang highly praises the film, saying "The sheer depth of its formal artistry places “The Assassin” in a rather more rarefied realm.... Hou implicitly grasps the expressive power of stillness and reserve, the ways in which silence can build tension and heighten interest. Above all, he never loses sight of the fact that the bodies he moves so fluidly and intuitively through space are human, and remain so even in death. ... Hou Hsiao-hsien proves himself to be not just the creator of this assassin but an unmistakably kindred spirit."
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