The Assassin (2015)

The critic calls it one of the most beautiful films of the year, praising its layered textures, formal precision, and Shu Qi's haunting performance as the emotional center of this enigmatic wuxia tale.

Hou familiarizes Tang dynasty China in a wuxia tale less concerned with eulogizing values than exploring them, carving out a rich emotional sphere and finding delicate poetry in the dispassionate pursuit of revenge. The film is aggressively slow and difficult to follow but rewards with visual splendor and a painterly style of withdrawal.

The critic is awestruck by the film's refinement, economy, and visual harmony, describing it as a spell-like experience of breathtaking stillness and subtle shifts in tone that elevates the wuxia genre.

The critic calls the film a fascinating hybrid that combines Hou's patient style with a martial arts tale, praising its beauty, emotional resonance and meditative aura. The lead performance and period detail are highlighted as strengths.

The critic praises the film's exquisite, elliptical style and ravishing visuals as one of Hou's best, noting its oblique wuxia approach and attention to period detail in interiors and landscapes.

The Assassin is one of the most beautiful and puzzling movies of the decade, a mesmerizing martial-arts period piece that keeps to wuxia conventions while casting them in a mysterious light. Mood and poetic atmosphere are key, with quick, terse fights subsumed by a radical, minimalist yet lush aesthetic.

The critic hails the film as a mesmerizing slow burn that merges stasis and kinesis with breathtaking compositional elegance, the most ravishingly beautiful of Hou's work. Shu Qi's performance and the film's moral clarity in action sequences are praised.

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s painterly tale of Tang dynasty intrigue is a magnificent blend of fleet-footed action, dark magic and emotional realism. The film’s observational style, lengthy wide shots and exquisite cinematography through mists and fabrics create a magical, mesmerising experience.

The critic finds the film a contemplative and ravishing immersion in Tang Dynasty politics and moral dilemmas, reassuring purists that Hou maintains his artistic integrity with measured observation and elegant action bursts.

The critic notes Hou adapts the wuxia genre to his delicate, realist touch with spare and precise action scenes, resulting in a beautiful, beguiling film that immerses viewers in its rarefied world despite its slow pace.

The critic praises the film's sumptuous stillness punctuated by extravagant martial artistry and its evocation of classical Chinese paintings. Narrative psychology and character depth are noted as comparatively thinned out.

The review describes the film as beguiling yet baffling, with a steadily paced, dream-like quality focused more on contemplative beauty and emotions than clear plot or action, though it fascinates even without full understanding.

The film offers an idiosyncratic, personal take on the martial arts genre with bursts of swift swordplay amid long, still landscapes. It is extraordinarily beautiful but its refinement and narrative ambiguity may limit appeal beyond art film fans.

The critic describes the film as a stately, graceful action movie with bursts of choreographed violence that otherwise unfolds like a series of exquisite paintings. Hou Hsiao-hsien's visual beauty and formal innovation are singled out for praise.

The critic finds the film gorgeous and novel in its languorous take on martial arts and representation of violence, but criticises its ridiculous plot, lack of humour and diminishing tension in the second half.

The critic commends the hypnotizing cinematography, detailed historical production and costume design, and how the film transcends the wuxia genre with its emphasis on stillness, light, and natural female agency.

The critic describes the film as an epic visual poem of extraordinary beauty and period naturalism, celebrating its painterly frames, minimal dialogue, and rewards for patience despite the slow pacing and sparse story.

The critic hails Hou at the peak of his powers, praising the masterful composition, colour, and rewarding minimalist storytelling for patient viewers despite some narrative opacity.

The critic praises Hou Hsiao-hsien for blending stunning imagery with enigmatic storytelling in this wuxia tale of deferred vengeance. The film’s visual poetry, efficient combat scenes, and strong ensemble performances are singled out for creating a hypnotic experience for arthouse audiences.

The film applies Hou’s signature stillness to the wuxia genre, resulting in something that may frustrate viewers seeking energy and action. The critic singles out the sheer beauty of its direction, meticulous production design, and visual poetry as soaring strengths.

The critic praises the meditative beauty and dignified imagery but notes a lack of pulse-pounding action or emotional intensity compared to typical martial arts films.

The critic praises the film's visual splendor in color and costumes along with the elegant, bloodless fight scenes but notes the ponderous pace and convoluted storyline may limit its appeal to those seeking more action than art.

The critic finds the film visually beautiful but dramatically paralysed and too aloof, criticising its lack of action and testing the viewer's patience despite festival acclaim.

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s film is a gorgeous, visually stunning martial arts movie that withholds and subverts genre pleasures for something more beautiful and mysterious. The critic praises its lyrical battle sequences and meticulous construction but finds it emotionally and narratively impoverished, stubborn in its withholding quality.