'The Assassin' set for August release in China
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 17, 2015
Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "The Assassin" will land in Chinese theaters at the end of August, Hou said on Tuesday at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival.
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Chang Chen (left), Hou Hsiao-Hsien (center) and Zhou Yun (right) attended a press conference to promote "The Assassin" at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 16. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
"The Assassin" earned him the Best Director award at the 68th Cannes Film Festival held in May.
Hou, whose films have never before been screened on the Chinese mainland, joked at the press conference that "you have seen many of films on small screens via DVD or VHS, but now this will be on the big screen."
Hou attended the promotional event with actor Chang Chen and actress Zhou Yun.
Set at the end of the Tang Dynasty in ninth-century China, "The Assassin" tells the story of a highly trained female assassin, Nie Yinniang, who is sent back to her home province to kill its governor, to whom she is also betrothed, after a failed mission.
Hou said he prepared for the film for 25 years, since he conceived the idea for the film a very long time ago. He also praised the film’s lead actress, Shu Qi, who was absent from the press conference due to her work schedule. "Shu Qi is the modern-day Nie Yinniang," he said. "She is so pure and true when dealing with other people, and everybody in the cast and crew loves her."
After the premiere of "The Assassin" at Cannes, many Chinese and foreign media and critics applauded the film as a "groundbreaking" work that delivered the poetic beauty of the spirit of Chinese culture and martial arts. But other critics have said they didn't quite understand the film and felt confused.
"When you watch a film, you will keep your eyes on the screen when you feel drawn to it, no matter whether you understand it or not," Hou said in response to such criticism. "If you are impatient and can't go on watching, that is the film's problem. I feel that Hollywood films state every detail in their narratives, but I think real life is not like that. You don't have to fully understand the scenes and characters, you just feel it. This is related to your life experience. Everyone sees things differently, from different perspectives."
"The Assassin" will be released in China on August 27, 2015.
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