10/20/2015 - The Assassin (2015) - 7/10

Assassin - An interesting minimalistic period piece action-lite. Some real quality surrounded by real quandaries.

This is a singular film, housing some real genius. It is both passionate and subdued, leaving one to contemplate its art but question its ultimate deliveries. This inquisitive mixture is the problem (and maybe the answer?).

Plot is inert, not suffering from cultural dissonance but from purposeful abstruseness and token storytelling. I appreciate the sparseness in dialogue and explanation, but it becomes deafening in its silence. The over-reliance on the audience to make connections and imagine what is supposed to be occurring dissuaded me from total enjoyment.

There are some breathtaking scenes and I appreciate the supreme cinematography on display. But is that enough? And some of those shots/character & story being almost solely expressed through the placement and focus of the lens leaves the viewer's opinion dangerously dangling. I can see how someone could fall in love with a scene like the "exposition in front of the curtain" (if you have seen it, you will know what I am speaking of). It is full of symbolism and significance. But it is also pretentious, dull, and visually cloudy. I can't even decide if I loved it or hated it. I suppose somewhere in between.

That is probably the overriding feeling of the film: being torn. I love the minimalistic wire work and the reveling in the natural & personal. I hate that so little was explained and that the characters/actions seemed to intentionally obfuscate rather than illuminate. The camera felt so alive and intrinsic to the viewer, but shots had some odd choices and the editing was disjointed. It would be deeply realistic and informal, but then have grandiose narrative jumps and throw in bizarre supernatural elements. And for a main character that speaks, I think, only 3 times through the entirety of the film, the audience is either left tiresomely grasping at ethereal wisps of understanding or sweetly satisfied in the solitude of the assassin's shadow and her "man with no name"-esque ambiance.

I did like this film, but I didn't have the "come to Jesus" moment that so many critics apparently had. It was unique and beautiful, but hard to love in a way. I can only imagine so many who would see this film would HATE it. I appreciate this beautiful attempt that I didn't fully "get".