The Assassin (2015) – Review

In all aspects of life compatibility is very important. In you personal relationships you search for people who complement you and with whom you can get along, when it comes to technology you want your laptop or phone to work with accessories you get for it. But it’s also something which is present when it comes to movies. It’s the reason why one person is praising Batman v Superman or Suicide Squad and someone else absolutely hates it. For me I had compatibility issues with this film, which generally was praised in review and which won Hou Hsiao-hsien the price for best director at the 68th Cannes film festival. After struggling through this movie though it’s really hard for me to understand why.

9th century China. At a young age Nie Yinniang has been taken and raised by a nun to become an assassin, getting rid of local officials. She receives an assignment to travel back to the place she was born to kill her first love, who is now head of the biggest military power in China. She now has to face the past she has left behind and struggles with her emotions.

 The description of the story I had to get from the DVD, because I wasn’t able to get that from actually watching it. A lot of names are mentioned, the outlines of what is at stake is made clear, but as a movie I could not get into it and it couldn’t move me. The speed of the film is extremely slow, with lots of long slow-moving shots (also of nature) which didn’t do much to really drive the story forward. Looking at the title you might expect this to contain lots of action/fights, but it disappoints when it comes to that as well. There are some, but usually they are finished within seconds. So I did experience compatibility issues here. Yes, it does contain some very pretty imagery, the costumes are beautiful and it is well-lit and full of atmosphere, but to me that simply isn’t enough to make me enjoy it. It is slow and I didn’t feel any tension or could understand the emotional struggles of the main character. As the rest of the reviews are positive I seem to be the exception, but I’m not afraid to say so.