Based on a short story new martial arts movie juxtaposes opulent visuals with a brooding examination of family and national codes. With expert cinematography and shifting narrative perspectives, Hou has crafted another powerful treatise on alienation and honor.
Check out the trailer below.
Official synopsis: 9th Century China: 10-year-old general’s daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised – a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings. A slave to the orders of her mistress, Nie Yinniang must choose: sacrifice the man she loves or break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins.
The internationally acclaimed martial arts film The Assassin grossed more than 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) on the first day of its release in mainland Chinese cinemas. Film was the third highest grossing film at the Chinese box office for the day, according to statistics provided by Cbooo.cn, a box-office tracking website.
Aside from Shu Qi, the film also stars Chang Chen, Zhou Yun and Satoshi Tsumabuki. The cast also includes Ethan Juan, Hsieh Hsin-Ying and Fang-Yi Sheu.
The Assassin movie was selected to be screened in the main competition section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and director Hou Hsiao-Hsien won the award for Best Director. It was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.
The film with a budget of US$14.9 million 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.”
The Assassin premiered in Beijing on August 23, 2015, ahead of its wide release on August 27, and schedule for US release on October 16.
