WHO’S IN IT?
Shu Qi (The Transporter), Chang Chen (The Grandmaster), Zhou Yun (Warriors of Heaven and Earth), Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Magic Hour), Ethan Juan (Paradise in Service), Hsieh Hsin-Ying (The Rice Bomber), Ni Dahong (Curse of the Golden Flower), Yong Mei (Aftershock), Fang-Yi Sheu (Touch of the Light)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Hsiao-Hsien Hou (Flight of the Red Balloon), director, writer, producer; Cheng Ah (Springtime in a Small Town), T’ien-wen Chu (Flowers of Shanghai) and Hai-Meng Hsieh (film debut), writers; Wen-Ying Huang (Three Times) and Ching-Song Liao (First of May), producers; Giong Lim (Deep in the Clouds), composer; Ping Bin Lee (Norwegian Wood), cinematographer; Chih-Chia Huang (film debut), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In 8th century China, during the Tang Dynasty, a female assassin named Nie Yinniang (Qi) is appointed by her master, Taoist nun Jiaxin (Sheu), to slay corrupt government officials. However, when Yinniang shows mercy during one of her attempted kills, she is punished by Jiaxin with an assignment that sends her to kill Tian Ji’an, the military governor of the Weibo Circuit and once the man that Yinniang was betrothed to…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Winner of the Best Director prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s The Assassin is a Chinese martial arts film that’s truly worth discovering.
