Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

GazerRise Fantastic!

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Riley Porter Honestly I wasn't sure how to feel about this film after seeing it. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The cinematography and production design are really top notch. If I were to judge the merits of this film based purely on its visuals, then I think I'd give it something closer to a 9 or 10. The visuals also comprise some of the best parts of the story telling. Occasionally the film will present an image without context, only to later have the meaning of that image revealed by a character in whatever dialogue driven scene will directly follow that image. It's pretty neat and adds an nice component to the visual splendor beyond simply the surface level appeal. This element of the visual element of the film though, does hint at what is probably this film's greatest weakness. In the same way that one can become really confused when viewing some of the key images without their meaning revealed until after their presentation, the story of the film as a whole is potentially incomprehensible. I don't think it's because it's necessarily too complicated either. It seems more like the director had no patience for conveying information to the audience. There are key pieces of exposition early on which are never referenced again and that you could easily miss if you aren't laser focused from minute one. This is a problem throughout the film and it's not even limited to expository dialogue. There is one scene in particular when two characters are having what I assume was a deadly showdown. Again, visually very nice. The problem though, was that I couldn't tell who one of the character's was, if they had been mentioned/featured in the film previously, or why the fight was even really happening to begin with. It's honestly really frustrating, because this film seems to squander so much of the potential I see in the visual elements for reasons that I can't understand. The incomprehensible nature of the story is frankly needless, and I think it severely limits the amount of people who can truly enjoy it. I like a lot of it, and I might watch it again in the future. I think before I recommend it though, I should preface that recommendation by saying that you can't let your attention falter for even a moment, lest you lose track of the narrative completely.

gregory-rinaldi try and stay awake. I bet you can't. It always amazes me how a film like this can have such a large divide in reviews from people. Some people think it's the best thing they have ever seen and the rest expect a lot more from a film. If you want any of the following (plot, good characters, entertainment) then you won't find it here. If you want to stare at beautiful scenes and cinematography before you fall asleep then this is for you.I wanted to like the film. In fact I do like this style of film normally but there is really nothing to watch. Did I mention you will want to sleep while watching this film? I think I have now written 10 lines so this review will go live.

Jugu Abraham The filmmaking style of the Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien is amazing. Here is a film sold worldwide as a martial-arts film but made with incredible restraint from its performers and a delightfully managed soundtrack that raises its level to a sophisticated work of cinema that well-deserved its Best Director Award at Cannes.The film's cinematography is a delight. The sequence where the assassin meets the Governor of Weibo is remarkable with the sheer curtains camouflaging the assassin. Elsewhere, the film's cinematography is aided by superb choices of external locations carefully chosen in mainland China.The next highlight of the film are performances of two supporting actresses Zhou Yun (as the Governor's wife) and Fang-Yi Sheu (in the double role as Princess Jiacheng and her twin sister the nun). They are adorable in this movie as they have to convey feelings with extreme subtlety. Ms Fang-Yi Sheu's choreography seemed too western and reminiscent of the Martha Graham school, of which the actress I found is indeed a product. The dance I found was close to modern dance mixed with Sufi music. Probably, I am too picky.The music and soundtrack are equally delightful as the performances. The management of the soundtrack from silence to light footsteps to a few plucked string notes of a zither to full blown music at the end of the film present a rainbow of musical/aural pleasures for a keen viewer of cinema. However, the final musical piece during the end credits, was possibly less Oriental and more European to my ears. It almost sounded like bagpipes were playing in China.All in all, the film was a delight. A major film of 2015 that I saw in 2016. This film was superior to "Dheepan", which ultimately won the top prize at Cannes.

851222 Greetings from Lithuania."Nie yin niang" (2015) was a disappointing movie for me. First off all, i don't really "into" Asian martial arts movies, although there are some good ones. So that this movie really isn't about martial arts wasn't problem for me. It is extremely slowly paced - that wasn't the biggest issue for me. The main problem that it's just wasn't interesting. The main plot wasn't bad at all, but it just not involvingly done. There are some truly visionary moments in this movie, but they are far and in between. Acting was kinda stiff by lead actress, although she is suppose to be like this, some supporting stuff did a better job in my opinion. And there are some scenes that seems barely fit one with each other at all - like for example near the end when our main heroine walks from the mountain and is suddenly attacked ... "what just happen...?" was the first mind that cross my mind.Overall, "Nie yin niang" (aka. "The Assassin") isn't a bad movie, but it is not a good one either. This is surely not a mainstream movie which isn't a bad thing, but the bad thing is that it completely not involving and just simply boring.