The Assassin

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Par H @Parhwy Jan 18, 2026 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 @RT41563704 Mar 21, 2025 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, 2025 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, 2025 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 Dec 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 @RT46204403 Sep 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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