The Assassin (2015)

The Assassin: Directed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou. With Shu Qi, Chen Chang, Yun Zhou, Satoshi Tsumabuki. A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighth-century China.

“The images in The Assassin are like a massive coffee table book that you swear youu0026#39;ll open some day: Beautiful, lush, even overwhelming.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe pace doesnu0026#39;t suit a typical American audience, however. The action sequences are too infrequent, too much like ballet, too beautiful, and with too little blood, to satisfy the palates of my countrymen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are many quiet scenes–of vast landscapes, of sick old men, of beautiful women and children–that are almost as still as portraits but for the flutter of veils, drifts of smoke, and the sway of trees against a sky of wandering clouds.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA few of you will enjoy this film, appreciate its sensibilities and splendor. Too many, however, may leave the theater confused or lost as to what just transpired.”