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The Assassin

Play trailer 2:33 Poster for The Assassin 2015 1h 45m Action Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 127 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In ninth-century China, an exiled assassin (Shu Qi) must choose between love or duty when she receives orders to kill a man (Chang Chen) from her past.
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The Assassin

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Critics Consensus

The Assassin's thrilling visuals mark a fresh highlight for director Hsiao-hsien Hou, even if its glacial pace may keep some viewers at arm's length.

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Critics Reviews

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Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online 09/01/2017
I say this all to say that folks have been fallen all over themselves for the Chinese drama, THE ASSASSIN, which is indeed a solid film but nothing I haven't see before Go to Full Review
Mark Kermode Observer (UK) 01/24/2016
4/5
Magical and utterly mesmerising. Go to Full Review
Roger Clarke Sight & Sound 01/22/2016
A film that gains greatly from second or third viewings. Go to Full Review
Jaime Grijalba Vague Visages 12/04/2023
One could think of The Assassin as a cinephile’s film, as it contains a visual language that requires a trained eye, but nonetheless, with the still attributes of the acting and the overall length of the shots, the film is still highly entertaining... Go to Full Review
Nathaniel Muir AIPT 04/29/2023
There is nothing wrong with a martial arts flick slowing things down, and it is refreshing to see a movie from the genre put so much effort in the production. However, this does not take away from the feeling that The Assassin lacks focus. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson 08/14/2022
2/5
The high volume of posturing and portending weighs down "The Assassin" and will test your patience. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Par H @Parhwy Jan 18 You must pay attention to this film. A lot of information is conveyed by silence and stillness. Mood, vibe. There is dialogue and exposition however facial expressions, colours, external sounds… all of these make significant contributions to what is going on, why, how. I was unaware of this need in this film. This is not due to the subtitles; there aren’t that many to read. It was due to the film conveying information differently to how I expected and it took me a while to realise and catch up. Not the film’s fault. This is a carefully crafted film. I lost track of some characters and their relationships. Lighting is deliberately overly saturated and the background is blurry. Most scenes have the sounds of flying animals and insects (cicada, birds, bats). Most scenes are beautiful. Loved how the screen was divided by mountains, people, buildings to light, dark, or mist. Scenes sometimes linger; sometimes they end sharply. The story, the plot, is tight, sharp. Great film. See more Michael V Mar 21 It is extremely hard to follow, you never really know who anyone is or why they're doing anything. It also is one of the slowest movies I've ever seen. I was consistently bored as single shots linger for several minutes at a time with nothing happening. This would be fine for sweeping views of nature or something, but the director would also do it for shots of a character just standing there or something else as visually uninteresting. See more Leprechaun K @LeprechaunKing Feb 25 A visually stunning film by acclaimed director Hsiao. Very slow paced so probably not for everyone, but those with the patience and an eye for art will be handsomely rewarded. See more Alan O @Alan49770 Feb 15 Very slow moving movie. When there were fight scenes it was ok. Good acting... Just going at a snails pace. See more Alec B @Alec97 12/13/2023 Yes the plot is mostly indecipherable but at a certain point you stop caring as I don't believe your supposed to be all that invested in the story. What matters are the visual and auditory elements such as the gorgeous cinematography, the panoramic backgrounds, and the way the sounds of nature seem to hijack every scene. See more Will K 09/27/2023 Mesmerizing. For those who like to slow down and smell the roses. Yes, I was confused often - needed a "program guide" to help me understand characters, motivations, historical context, etc. But, with patience - I got enough of the gist and grist to make it worth watching. So yes, a little prep - will make this even more entertaining (and understandable). Oh, and then there is Shu Qi - the perfect assassin of my heart. See more Read all reviews
The Assassin

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The Assassin

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Movie Info

Synopsis In ninth-century China, an exiled assassin (Shu Qi) must choose between love or duty when she receives orders to kill a man (Chang Chen) from her past.
Director
Hsiao-hsien Hou
Screenwriter
Cheng Ah, T'ien-wen Chu, Hsiao-hsien Hou, Hai-Meng Hsieh
Distributor
Well Go USA
Production Co
Media Asia Films Ltd. [hk], Sil-Metropole Organisation, Central Motion Pictures Corporation
Genre
Action, Drama
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 16, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$632.5K
Runtime
1h 45m
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