The Assassin (2016) The martial arts film as a beautiful arts saga (Review)

The Assassin (Hsiao-Hsien Hou) is loosely based on a seventh-century folk tale about a female assassin assigned with re-establishing equilibrium to the corrupt Tang Dynasty court. Shu Qi plays Nie Yinniang, the formidable female protagonist, who has been trained since the age of Ten to be a silent slayer for the Imperial Court. It begins with a fleeting, crisp black and white prologue; we see Yinniang sent by her handler to kill two disloyal nobles. The first is killed with a swoop, like a “bird in flight”. This happens so fast that the camera struggles to keep up the flow of her actions, giving us a taste of her prowess. Yinniang is unable to kill the second target after observing him playing with his Son. “First kill the one he loves, then the man himself” Yinniang’s unhappy tutor isn’t only talking about Yinniang’s target; “You have mastered the sword, but your heart lacks resolve.” Yinniang’s next mission is not only her punishment but a task to exorcise her compassion.

At first glance, this tale seems familiar to anyone who only knows the modern Wuxia of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of Flying Daggers. Beyond that first glance, (the) Assassin is anything but. The long silent shots where the camera naturalistically wanders through a scene, as if we are Yinniang’s eyes; silently observing her surroundings, calculating each move with an absolute detach.  Yinniang’s next mission shifts in tone, her commitment tested by being sent to Weibo to kill Governor Tian Ji’an, who was once her betrothed before his father found a more convenient match. Yinniang discovers through her recon that Tian is stuck between a rock and a hard place of his own making, the ramifications of which could change the rule of the land.

More than anything, (the) Assassin reminds us of the understated power of reciting a tale. The original Chinese poem is about a bluebird brought to the palace by an Emperor, but for three years it didn’t make a sound. The Empress told the Emperor that this kind of bird “only sing to their own kind”. So they put a mirror in front of the bluebird, who saw its reflection and began dancing. The poor little bluebird was so excited that it danced all night until it died. This tale reveals much about Yinniang, more than any line of dialogue uttered throughout the movie. Later on in the movie, we see a metal mirror polished used to entertain the village children, a very literal visual interpretation of this poem. If only for this visual poetry, the Assassin is a world away from the typical high adrenaline action film.

The drama unfolds behind flowing silk curtains, a sumptuous haze of candles, flickering fires – each scene is treated like a canvas for Hou’s lavish imagination. Every costume is bursting with colour and emotion, compensating for each characters’ withheld demeanour. The cinematography is glorious, filled with lingering shots of traditional Chinese sets par excellence, natural beauty and beautiful costume design. These scenes have a surreal splendour, and each character is conservative with their emotion, their body language reveals small movements that are of vital importance. This is at its truest with Yinniang, whose “mind is hostage to human sentiments”, stuck in a contradiction between her impersonal impressions and her sympathetic nature.

Each frame could be hung on a wall, DoP Ping Bin Lee has made what is possibly the single most beautiful WuXia film of all time. There is also a contrariness to the celebrated, the traditional films of this genre were big, brash and louder and life, meaning the minimalism of Taiwanese auteur Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s work refreshes one of the oldest genres without betraying any origins. Even if surprisingly punchy, most of the 105-minute run is engaged in the pursuits of slow cinema, with the camera observing people doing little and admittedly beautiful cinematography capturing the arresting geographical and topological surroundings. Genre purists may not be the happiest, however, the elegance and beauty of this Assassin has captured the attention of cinema fans for all the right reasons.

Thanks for reading our review of The Assassin

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