The Assassin

Started by jenkins, September 03, 2015, 02:26:33 PM

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jenkins

trailer:



clip:



director/co-writer: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Release date: USA 16 October 2015 (limited)

jenkins

creating a crossover between this thread and the Maurice Pialat thread by mentioning Laemmle.

QuoteLaemmle Theatres is proud to announce we have taken over the management and operation of the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills
QuoteAccording to CinemaTreasures.org, the Fine Arts first opened in April 1937 as the Wilshire Regina, with seating for 800. It has been well maintained over the years and is – and under Laemmle's stewardship will remain – a single-screen theater, though now with slightly more than 400 seats. (Movie patrons' expectations of things like leg room have understandably risen over the decades.) We last operated the venue from 1985 to 1993, mostly screening foreign films.
QuoteThe Ahrya Fine Arts Theater is owned by Shawn Far. He runs Vertigo USA, a successful clothing company based in Downtown Los Angeles, and is a Beverly Hills resident.
this is actually my favorite bit of information because i'm emotional:
QuoteThe Fine Arts will share its name with Mr. Far's eldest son, Ahrya.
<3

what a theater reopening in Beverly Hills looks like:


because Shawn Far owns it the first movie they'll show will be Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer, September 18th.

then The Assassin will have the first engagement. so if i don't go to the newly reopened theater to see The Assassin i'll once again have to qustion my life choices

link:
http://blog.laemmle.com/2015/09/announcing-the-ahrya-fine-arts-theatre-by-laemmle-opening-september-18th/

[edit] some impressive fact errors in this post, ones that defy logic of space/time, and anyway so this theater yeah it already opened on sep 18 and it's already operational and really anyway i wanted to say i want to check out this theater and see The Assassin.

Ravi

I don't know if I was just in the wrong frame of mind for this film or what, but I found it deathly boring. The film mostly consists of slowly-paced shots of people sitting there, slowly delivering dialogue (or not delivering dialogue). I'm fine with slow-paced films, but this one tested my patience. Is there some context to this film that would help me understand it?

pete

haven't seen this one but that dude's in a league of his own in terms of how slow he is
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

samsong

i love hou hsiao hsien.  i was looking forward to this film very much.  i saw this a couple months ago.  i could barely make it through this, much less understand why it's being as lauded as it is.  i've read more reviews for this film than i have any other in an effort to get insight into what the big fucking deal is, and the critical consensus seems to be that it's, uh, pretty.  and elusive. 

painterly as it is, i didn't think this was exceptionally beautiful.  certainly not beautiful enough to sustain the viewing in and of itself.  i may revisit this at some point out of good faith, because there's no reason why i shouldn't have loved this, but this viewing was enormously disappointing.

Alexandro

I have a love-hate relationship with "slow" films, and I approached this one with caution. However, I didn't find it slow at all. Better said, it has it's own pace, but it never drags. Every shot is so full of details and beauty that you barely have time to appreciate them, and indeed I had a problem following the story, due to a combination of the film's bare bones approach to storytelling and my constant distraction with the images themselves.

The story aspect has to be stretched out because unlike many other "slow" films where plot and straight narrative become unimportant, here there is actually a very clear storyline and character development, but we just have to adjust to the terms imposed here. As the film progressed and I started to have a bit more clarity of what was actually going on, dramatic weight started to be felt and I became more involved. But I'm completely sure this film warrants a couple more viewings to get everything straight and then be able to feel and enjoy it as fully as it deserves. it's actually quite moving what the main character goes trough and how everything gets resolved.

Action scenes, however, were not at the level of perfection the rest of the film has, although in the grand scheme of things it may not be that important. It's still a fantastic film which, despite my reservations, proved to me deserving of every accolade.