The Assassin

The first film in eight years by Taiwanese master Hou Hsaio-hsien (A City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster) is an extraordinary comeback. 

The Assassin screened in Competition at Cannes this year, where it won Best Director for Hou, with many also expecting it to win the Palme d’Or.

Visually exquisite – critics have acclaimed its astonishing, rapturous beauty – it sees Hou working in the wuxia genre. It’s set during the Tang Dynasty in the 9th century and tells a story adapted from a 9th century legend, about Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi), abducted at the age of ten by a nun, Jiaxing, who raised her and initiated her into martial arts.

Now, Nie is asked to kill cruel and corrupt government officials; but when she fails in a task, she’s sent back to the land of her birth and faces a critical choice.

Mesmeric and dreamlike, this utterly distinctive film is a joy to watch.