The Assassin
Cike Nie Yin Niang



Directed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Produced by Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Wen-Ying Huang, and Ching-Song Liao
Written by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Chu Tien-wen, Hsieh Hai-Meng, and Zhong Acheng

With: Qi Shu, Chen Chang, and Satoshi Tsumabuki

Cinematography: Ping Bin Lee
Editing: Ching-Song Liao and Chih-Chia Huang
Music: Giong Lim

Runtime: 105 min
Release Date: 27 August 2015
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Color: Color

Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien won best director at the Cannes Film Festival for this adaption of the late 9th century martial arts story "Nie Yinniang" by Pei Xing. Maybe I’m missing something, or I’m just not the right audience, but I found this picture a real slog. The elliptical narrative, static performances, and seemingly inept fight choreography and coverage makes for an utterly underwhelming movie-going experience. The cinematography is lovely, but it’s never a good thing if all you can say about a film is that the cinematography is lovely.

Return to Home Page

How I Rate Films



An All-timer. One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings.



One of the year's best. An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 greatest and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.



A very good film. Most films I see fall in the two- or three-star ranking. I give an extra half-star to three-star films that could end up on the list of the 5000 greatest.



A good film that fully succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Well worth seeing, but less effective than a three-and-a-half stars films and often less consequential than a two-and-a-half star film.



A noteworthy or enjoyable film that I can’t fully recommend. Still, two-and-a-half star films are often some of the most memorable films of a year.



A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. But still worth seeing if you’ve got the time.



A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.



One of the worst films.