The Assassin

Every now and so often, a film comes along that makes such enormous waves one must wonder as to whether true genius is at work or the PR spin-doctors of the Cannes Film Festival did their job overtly well and simply lured assembled press and distinguished critics into the almighty hype surrounding THE ASSASSIN. It is the first feature film by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsine in eight years and scored top awards at various film festivals… but does it really stand up to the hype?

To put it upfront, the film is without doubt absolutely beautiful to look at, dipped in semi-translucent colours and opulent magnificence that almost suggests certain otherworldliness. ‘Otherworldliness’ is in fact not too off the mark, seeing how the story is based on an ancient Chinese saga called ‘Nie Yinniang’ and in this case, the sometimes bewildering blend of complexity, subtlety and action will make more sense to cinemagoers in the Far East then to a Western audience.
The fusion of arthouse and martial arts sounds intriguing and yet, it is confusing and misleading… especially as far as the film’s title is concerned: we don’t get enough martial arts and too much arthouse. We certainly get overtly stylised and static shots as well as a plot that at times unfolds so painfully slowly, it almost borders on the pretentious.

The plot is set in 8th century China during the Tang Dynasty, and we are introduced to Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi), the female assassin of the title. It all starts in b/w and we learn that as a little girl, Yinniang was abducted by a sisterhood of nuns who take her under their wing and transform her into an exceptional warrior/martial arts expert with the aim that she will kill off corrupt governors one by one. As the saga continues it changes into colour and Yinniang’s teacher and master Jiaxin (Fang Yi-Sheu), a Taoist nun, assigns her to the next ‘job’. However, Yinniang fails to complete the mission out of sympathy for the young child of the potential victim and by doing so incurs the wrath of Jiaxin, who later turns out to be her maternal aunt.
As a punishment for having displayed ‘weakness’ at a crucial moment, Jiaxin sends Yinniang back to Weibo, the land of her birth… Surely this cannot be the intended punishment I hear you ask, and no it is not. Jiaxin orders our heroine to kill Weibo’s military governor Tian Ji’an (Chang Chen) and yes, there is of course a hook attached: Tian, a cousin of Yinniang who is now married to Lady Tian (Zhou Yun), was formerly betrothed to her… Suddenly confronted with the demons from her past, Yinniang must now decide whether to continue walking her path as an assassin or whether to break free…

The action scenes are sparse and sporadic. If they do happen then they are executed almost elegantly and in silence and are performed with considerable skill by leading lady Shu Qi. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin displays obvious flair for flawlessly composed shots, though as to why director Hsiao-Hsien instructed him to pan the camera from one side to the other while remaining in the same frame, or quite why we never see any close-up shots remains a mystery.
More Zen than Wuxia, THE ASSASSIN may not be everyone’s cup of jasmine tea but really you ought to taste it for yourself.