It is a film that is both young and lively and mature and tempered, as only a master looking. Shu qi plays a mysterious female assassin whose heart gets in the way in hou hsiao hsien s first martial arts film. The assassin official trailer 1 2015 hou hsiaohsien. Chaos reigns in ninthcentury china as multiple warlords vie for position. The films of hsiaohsien, an international retrospective organized by richard i. A new trailer for hou hsiaohsiens the assassin has been. Set in chinas tang dynasty, the eighthcentury golden age of culture, the assassin tells the story of a hitwoman trained by a nun to kill corrupt government officials, and turns the fastpaced format of martialarts films on its head with a slow, painterly approach typical of taiwanese director hou hsiaohsiens vast catalogue.
Together with edward yang, wan jen, chang yi, and ko ichen, hou was in the vanguard of the taiwanese new wave. The assassin official trailer 1 2015 hou hsiaohsien movie hd. A great comeback of hou hsiaohsien, master of eastern cinema already known for some of his films as. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin has been hailed in predictably familiar terms to those who have been attentive to the reception of sinophone film for past years. May 21, 2015 taiwanese director hou hsiao hsien brings the assassin to the cannes film festivals competition for the palme dor, the story of a female professional killer in 9thcentury china, played by. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin is the most beautiful film at. Watch the assassin 2015 full movie free online streaming. She laughs in delight, writes them down on her pad, then relays. Hou hsiaohsiens wuxia epic the assassin astonishes cannes. May 21, 2015 hou hsiaohsiens wuxia epic the assassin astonishes cannes. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in taiwan s new wave cinema movement, an auteur. Celebrated taiwanese master director hou hsiao hsien s longawaited return to the screen tells the story of yie ninniang shu qi, a generals daughter, kidnapped as a child and trained by a nun in the deadly arts only to be sent home on a bloody mission of revenge, with her betrothed chang chen as the target.
The obliqueness of the plot may frustrate some, but for me those particulars are completely beside the point. Jan 24, 2016 a mong this years most galling oscar oversights is the absence of hou hsiaohsiens the assassin from the foreign language film nominations. The eye in question belongs to hou hsiaohsien, the taiwanese filmmaker whose work, over more than 30 years, is a catalog of visual beauty and formal innovation. Reinforcing hous position as an indisputable cinematic master, the film justifiably won the best director prize at cannes. Celebrated taiwanese master director hou hsiaohsiens longawaited. Known for his awardwinning historical drama a city of. Of the ten films that hsiaohsien hou directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film or best director awards from prestigious international films festivals in venice, berlin, hawaii, and the festival of the three continents in nantes. The assassin written by cheng ah, tienwen chu, hsiaohien hou, haimeng hsieh and xing pei directed by hsiaohsien hou taiwanchinahong kongfrance, 2015 its a tad misleading to define hsiaohsien hous the assassin as a martial arts movie.
The aspiration of chinese filmmaking towards art film. A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighthcentury china. To give you the best experience possible, this site uses cookies. We wrote about the film, enraptured, during the festival. Hou hsiaohsiens distinctive and slowmoving wuxia tale the assassin demands. Mopas taiwan cinema spotlight highlights director hou hsiao. The timing is perfect since the 68yearold director just screened a new film at. Hou hsiao hsien captures martial arts artistry the fights in the assassin may not last long, but they demonstrate that the main character is as. With qi shu, chen chang, yun zhou, satoshi tsumabuki. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin and the prounification left.
The assassin tells the story of a swordswoman who refrains from killing. The film won hou the best director prize in cannes and next will travel to. Of the ten films that hsiaohsien hou directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film or best director awards. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin is taiwans pick in foreign. The electric princess picture house hou hsiaohsien, 2007. Hou hsiaohsiens films include raise the red lantern, a city of sadness, millennium mambo, three times. May 28, 2015 the museum of photographic arts kicks off its taiwan cinema spotlight on director hou hsiaohsien thursday night.
The assassin is a martial arts film like none made before it. Download or stream the assassin 2015 with shu qi, chang chen, satoshi. In 2015, hou won the best director award at the cannes film festival for the assassin 2015. In the perfect assassin such howlers are kept to an absolute minimum and the whole story unfolds with swisswatchlike precision.
Yinniang shu qi left her family at an early age to follow her aunt, a nun who trained her to be an assassin specializing in eliminating corrupt government officials. Apr 04, 2020 hou hsiaohsien, chineseborn taiwanese director known for his film explorations of taiwans history and family life, which emphasized realism through their subject matter and measured pace. Oct 16, 2015 the eye in question belongs to hou hsiao hsien, the taiwanese filmmaker whose work, over more than 30 years, is a catalog of visual beauty and formal innovation. Hou hsiaohsiens first film in eight years was also his first foray into the wuxia genre. The assassin official trailer 2015 hou hsiaohsien movie hd. A is the most beautiful thing at cannes, but who knows what its really about. An aweinspiring samurai movie from cannes film festival best director winner hsiaohsien hou and starring qi shu. The assassin is a 2015 taiwanese martial arts film directed by hou hsiaohsien. The film won hou the best director prize in cannes and next will travel to toronto, the new york film festival and fantastic. Pdf the appearance of hou hsiaohsiens film the assassin in 2015 and its distinction the same year with the best directors award at. Hou hsiaohsien, pinyin hou xiaoxian, born april 8, 1947, meixian now meizhou, guangdong province, china, chineseborn taiwanese director known for his film explorations of taiwans history and family life, which emphasized realism through their subject matter and measured pace hou was born in mainland china, but his family fled the chinese civil war 194549 and settled. In his first directing effort since the 2007 juliette binoche vehicle flight of. He won the golden lion at the venice film festival in 1989 for his film a city of sadness 1989, and the best director award at the cannes film festival in 2015 for the assassin 2015. In a 1988 worldwide critics poll, hou was championed as one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema.
Suchenski director, center for moving image arts at bard college, in collaboration with the taipei cultural center, the taiwan film institute, and the ministry of culture of the republic of china taiwan. Arriving in the lobby of the park hyatt in busan, south korea, where his martialarts epic, the assassin, is. The film, on which hou hsiao hsien takes both directorial and coscreenwriting duties, stars qi shu in the lead role, and is poised to hit chinese theatres later this month, with us and canadian release dates yet to be announced. Hou hsiaohsien astonishes his audience once again by upsetting. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin is the most beautiful film.
Mopas taiwan cinema spotlight highlights director hou. Of the ten films that hsiao hsien hou directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film or best director awards from prestigious international films festivals in venice, berlin, hawaii, and the festival of the three continents in nantes. A new trailer for hou hsiaohsiens the assassin has. The assassin s glacial pacing serves to increase tension and allow us to linger on the unspoken emotions bubbling just beneath the surface in every scene. Your best bet for the second week is the assassin by taiwanese master hou hsiaohsien. With the assassin, he joins other toptier auteurs like john woo, wong kar wai, ang lee, zhang yimou, and jia zhangke in revisiting the chinese tradition of swordplay and knighterrantry, popularised in the cinema by king hu with classics like dragon gate inn 1967 and a touch of zen 1971.
The film, on which hou hsiaohsien takes both directorial and coscreenwriting duties, stars qi shu in the lead role, and is poised to hit chinese theatres later this month, with us and canadian release dates yet to be announced. The best film playing this years chicago international film festival, and arguably the best film to play anywhere in chicago in 2015 period, is the assassin, the latest masterpiece from taiwanese director hou hsiaohsien a city of sadness. He won the golden lion at the venice film festival in 1989 for his film a city of sadness 1989, and the best. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin, guy maddins the forbidden room, arnaud desplechins my golden days, michael almereydas experimenter, denis villeneuves sicario, douglas fairbanks, paul schrader on widescreen, jafar panahis taxi, the nitrate picture show. Hou hsiaohsiens cike nie yinniang the assassin, representing. Qi shu as nie yinniang in the taiwan, china and hong kong film, the assassin from hsiaohsien hou. Oct 21, 2015 if there is such a thing as casual gravitas, then hou hsiaohsien embodies it. Hou hsiaohsien captures martial arts artistry the fights in the assassin may not last long, but they demonstrate that the main character is as.
Interview with hou hsiaohsien of the assassin movie. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin sees the veteran taiwanese filmmaker, known for his quiet realist dramas, tackle the wuxia historical martial arts genre with a. Normally in these sorts of thrillers there are large gaps in logic or plausibility that are only disguised by a frenetic pace or ott action. Sure, there are moments of intense fighting by people who look like theyre trained in that. Here, hou takes wuxia, the most overplayed genre in chinese fiction and film, and makes it seem completely unfamiliar, without subverting any of its outsize gestures or values.
The esoteric style of hou hsiao hsiens the assassin. Hsiaohsien hou celebrity profile check out the latest hsiaohsien hou photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Taiwan has gone with master filmmaker hou hsiaohsiens the assassin. With the assassin hou hsiaohsien completely reinvents the wuxia genre in its creativity according to their own personal and recognizable cinematic style. The assassin directed by hou hsiao hsien stream or download on. After an eightyear absence, taiwanese filmmaker hou hsiaohsien has boldly returned to feature filmmaking with the assassin nie yinniang, a tang dynastyset story set amidst the political conflict between the central government and provinces.
Hous elegant, elliptical style of filmic storytelling lends a restrained beauty to an often overly robust genre, and accounts for the considerable acclaim his latest feature, the assassin 2015, is receiving on the festival and theatrical circuit. The museum of photographic arts kicks off its taiwan cinema spotlight on director hou hsiaohsien thursday night. It was selected to be screened in the main competition section at the 2015 cannes film festival. This year, he is joining us to present his new film, the assassin, and to speak about some of the. The perfect assassin matches stealing trinity for razor sharp plotting. Six films by hou hsiaohsien is a selection from also like life. The assassin a noble failure from hou hsiaohsien sfgate. Right after this report, netizens from china started to mock or criticize shu qis patriotic deed read online download pdf. Ahead of its theatrical release, a new trailer has arrived, and can be seen below.
Sep 10, 2015 taiwan has gone with master filmmaker hou hsiaohsiens the assassin. The assassin, which earned the director an award at cannes and was selected as taiwans entry for the academy awards, did not disappoint, but it certainly surprised. Hou s facility with stillness and silence is so impressive. The assassin also won a best foreign language film award from the 2015 florida film. Yie ninniang has trained in the deadly arts for years, and is ready to take on a dangerous mission of revenge. Hou hsiaohsien synopsis its been quite a few years since hou hsiaohsien, one of the worlds greatest living directors, has visited new york. Six films by hou hsiaohsien gene siskel film center. The assassins glacial pacing serves to increase tension and allow us to linger on the unspoken emotions bubbling just beneath the surface in every scene. If there is such a thing as casual gravitas, then hou hsiaohsien embodies it.
Its hard to hide my disappointment in the assassin, the first film in eight years by one of the greatest modern directors, taiwans hou hsiaohsien, and one of the most eagerly awaited. Hou hsiaohsien with shu qi and chang chen by rubing liang on september 3, 2015 our septemberoctober cover story about the assassin features an interview with hou hsiaohsien by aliza ma, as well as an excerpt from the below interview by rubing liang, conducted in cannes with hou and his stars shu qi who plays the assassin, nie. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in taiwans new wave cinema movement. The assassin, taiwanese master hou hsiaohsiens first film in eight years, was one of the most sublime revelations at the cannes film festival this may, where the film premiered and took home the best director prize. It has been 8 years since the great taiwanese filmmaker hou hsiaohsiens last feature the parisset flight of the red balloon, starring juliette binoche, but the assassin shows no lessening of his formidable artistic grip. Nov 21, 2015 hous elegant, elliptical style of filmic storytelling lends a restrained beauty to an often overly robust genre, and accounts for the considerable acclaim his latest feature, the assassin 2015, is receiving on the festival and theatrical circuit. Celebrated taiwanese master director hou hsiaohsiens longawaited return to the screen tells the story of yie ninniang shu qi, a generals daughter, kidnapped as a child and trained by a nun in the deadly arts only to be sent home on a bloody mission of revenge, with her betrothed chang chen as the target. Taiwanese director hou hsiaohsien wowed this years. A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political. Hou hsiaohsiens the assassin and the prounification. The assassin behind the scenes hou hsiaohsien movie hd. Taiwanese director hou hsiaohsien brings the assassin to the cannes film festivals competition for the palme dor, the story of a female professional killer in 9thcentury china, played by. An awe inspiring samurai movie from cannes film festival best director winner hsiao hsien hou and starring qi shu. A taiwanchinahong kong coproduction, it was an official selection in the main competition section at the 2015 cannes film festival.
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