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September 16, 2015
Master Director Hou Hsiao-hsien's First Film in Eight Years, The Assassin | MOVIE
MOVIE | Master Director Hou Hsiao-hsien's First Film in Eight Years
The Assassin, Winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes
From Hou Hsiao-hsien, the director behind masterpieces such as "A City of Sadness," which won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival, and "Café Lumière," comes his first new film in eight years. A beautiful, serene, and new kind of wuxia film, "The Assassin" will be released nationwide starting Saturday, September 12th, at Shinjuku Piccadilly and other theaters.
Text by KUROMIYA Yuzu
A Stellar Cast and Crew Converge to Create Hou's Magnum Opus
Hou Hsiao-hsien's latest masterpiece, "The Assassin." The film delicately portrays a solitary female assassin tossed about by a strange fate, unfolding a grand drama that transcends the boundaries of action. This release marks the "Japan Original Director's Cut," a version specifically requested by Director Hou.
Shu Qi plays the titular role of the "female assassin." She delivers a performance of quiet restraint, revealing a new depth by suppressing intense emotions. Chang Chen, known for the "Red Cliff" series, portrays the target, Lord Nie. Satoshi Tsumabuki plays a young Japanese envoy, and Yuya Nakao plays his wife.
The film also captivates with its exquisite and original visual beauty, featuring delicate camerawork that captures even the flicker of flames, majestic music, breathtaking Chinese landscapes reminiscent of ink wash paintings, and temples filmed in Kyoto, Nara, and Hyogo. Director Hou achieved a remarkable feat by submitting his film to the Cannes Film Festival's competition section for the seventh time. He received accolades from this year's jury members, including the Coen brothers, Guillermo del Toro, and Xavier Dolan, and deservedly won theBest Director Award.
A Solitary Female Assassin Tossed About by a Strange Fate
Set in Tang Dynasty China. Nie Yinniang, who was entrusted to a Taoist nun 13 years prior, returns. Her parents welcome her with tears, but the beautiful young woman has been trained as an assassin. Her target is the tyrant Lord Nie, her former betrothed.
Unable to bring herself to kill Lord Nie, Yinniang finds herself bewildered by the affection she feels, a stark contrast to her life as an assassin. She questions her fate, asking, "Why must I kill?" One day, cornered, Yinniang is saved by a young Japanese man.
"The Assassin"
Now Playing Nationwide from Saturday, September 12th, at Shinjuku Piccadilly and other theaters
Director | Hou Hsiao-hsien
Screenplay | Chu Tien-wen, Hou Hsiao-hsien
Starring | Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Yuya Nakao
Distributor | Shochiku
2015 | Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, France | 108 min | Original Title: "The Assassin"
http://kokui-movie.com
© 2015 Spot Films, Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd, Central Motion Picture International Corp.