Metrograph

Defined by a delicious tension between spectacular subject matter and a distanced, elliptical directorial approach, by its short bursts of action and long expanses of stillness, The Assassin is the first foray into wuxia territory by Taiwanese master Hou, one of his generation’s most acclaimed and accomplished filmmakers. In Hou’s hands the story of Shu Qi’s hitwoman, steeling herself for a mission to eliminate her onetime betrothed, a corrupt official (Chang Chen, exuding taciturn gravitas) for whom she has lingering feelings, becomes one of the most voluptuous, entrancing martial arts pictures ever made, a film of at times delirious emotional intensity, thanks in no small part to its magnetic leads.

Distributor: Well Go USA