THE ASSASSIN

At some point in the 9th century, the Tang Dynasty, which led China into a golden age, started to lose its grip under pressure from various rebellious provincial governors. The Empire sends Nie Yinniang, a ruthless martialarts expert and assassin, to kill the governor of Weibo Province, who is none other than her cousin, to whom she was briefly betrothed before political calculations forced him to marry another woman. Desire, treachery, martial arts — and Hou Hsiao-Hsien! Many movie lovers were delighted when the new project by the great Taiwanese director, silent since 2007, was announced. And now to see the master of philosophical minimalism and the sensual stripping of films to their essence taking on a martial arts film is a huge reward for our patience. From the black & white prologue, focused on pure grace and beauty, to his story’s mind-bending enigmas and the perfectly realized melding of traditional gesture and modern fighting, The Assassin is a superb work of art, justly rewarded with the award for best director at Cannes this year.