The Assassin

Chinese filmmaker Hou Hsiou-Hsien won the Best Director Award at Cannes for The Assassin, a reimagining of the martial arts drama as a vision of stillness, tension, and painterly beauty. Asian superstar Shu Qi plays Nie Yinniang, kidnapped as a child and trained by a cold-blooded nun to become an assassin for the Emperor, while Chen Chang costars as Tian Ji'an, Nie's target. Tian also happens to be her cousin, as well as the man to whom she was once betrothed. Needless to say, all of this carries emotional complications, which Nie hides behind her expressionless facial mask but betrays in her actions. Hou doesn't shoot the martial arts scenes in a conventional manner: the action arrives in pulses—sudden bursts of movement—while the battle scenes are brief, with images of individuals racing through tall grass or running through the underbrush given as much weight as the clash of swordsmen (and swordswomen). Viewers looking for a classic martial arts spectacle in the vein of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Ip Man may find this frustrating, but many will appreciate this unique cinematic experience. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a winning foreign film.] (S. Axmaker)