The Assassin was the film that Sarah was most excited about ahead of Cannes. This is how she described it in her preview:
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien is arguably one of the greatest directors in the world and he has a new martial arts film, The Assassin, about a ninth century girl who is trained to be an assassin by a nun. SOLD.
The film premiered at the festival yesterday. And the critics had an orgasm. They’re calling it the most beautiful film of the year and, with Shu Qi in the lead role, also representative of what’s becoming the emerging theme of Cannes 2015: more stories for women, more women in film. They’re saying The Assassin is now a legitimate contender for the Palme d’Or. Could you see the Coen Brothers choosing an arty Chinese martial arts movie as the Best Film in their year?
Here’s Shu Qi at the press conference and the gala last night. Does it seem right to you that The Transporter came out 13 years ago? That long? She looks exactly the same.
