The Assassin review: Sight & Sound critics’ choice of best film of 2015 makes its way to the UK.
The Assassin review
There are some directors out there who don’t give a damn what you think. Their style and cinematic expertise working as merely a way for them to convey the stories they want. Such directors can usually never be pigeonholed and fly in the face of the auteur theory. They can also be very difficult to love, but hard not to respect. Anybody wanting a conflicting time at the movies may very well wish to check out the films of Hsiao Hsien Hou. From his Yasujiro Ozu inspired Cafe Lumiere, to the bizarre and magical Flight Of The Red Balloon, while never forgetting the brilliance of Flowers Of Shanghai, Hou is constantly rebranding himself, and he does it once again with The Assassin, which arrives in the UK having already been labeled as Sight & Sound’s best film of the year.
Qi Shu continues a run of incredibly strong female leads over the past year as Nie Yinniang, the titular assassin. After doing a Jason Bourne and refusing to kill one of her targets after seeing them with their kids, Nie is forced to take on a mission that will truly test her loyalty to those in charge. The plot is simple and the film knows it, relying more on emotion and stunning visuals to propel matters along. What’s not so simple are the struggles that Nie faces. She’s a fairly plain character that is easy to grasp and relate to, at least at first. Soon we see her drop a tough exterior to allow emotions in, which Qi Shu tackles effortlessly.
The Assassin review
The emotional core is quite surprising though, as Hou keeps things incredibly restrained. Within the first ten minutes this seemed as though it was going to be one of the greatest films ever made. It captured everything so perfectly, especially an assassination attempt devoid of any non-diegetic music. It gives the action a raw power that loud and booming blockbusters could learn a lot from. The tension is built up naturally, and it was quite alarming as to how involved one can be when not being manipulated to feel a certain way. This strength carries on throughout, with what appears to be musical accompaniment or voice-overs soon shown to be dialogue or instrument playing from the next scene.
This sense of nature is even more present in the beautiful surroundings the characters find themselves in. Like all the best martial arts and swordplay movies the landscapes take on a life of their own and are so much more than mere backgrounds for glorious fight sequences. Ping Bin Lee whose previous cinematography has aided the visual style of the incredible In The Mood For Love, balances all the technical and natural aspects of each shot to create true artistic masterpieces. This is very important, as what could be simple scenery actually reflects what is happening story wise and to the characters.
The Assassin review
The style and beauty may overshadow the story and characters at times, but only on the surface. Digging deeper reveals a simple but fully engaging tale of duty and honour versus the heart. Hsiao Hsien Hou is the true master here, with a firm grasp on the material and a clear understanding of the wuxia genre. If The Assassin achieves one thing, it’s that it will make you question how you view movies (action films in particular), and will ask why we need all this nonsensical fast paced editing, close-up shots, and loud music, when a quiet, shot from afar scene in long takes can be just as powerful. Maybe not always entertaining, but certainly always striking.
The Assassin review by Luke Ryan Baldock, January 2016.
The Assassin is playing in UK cinemas from 22nd January.
