As the Cannes Film Festival slowly comes to a close, reports and reviews praising different movies are quickly filling up the internet. "The Assassin," is one of those films, and critics are saying that praises should definitely be in order.

"The Assassin" is a kung-fu movie that takes viewers back to 9^th century China, where an assassin is tasked to kill a governor whom she was promised to be wed. However, unlike any other kung-fu flick, "The Assassin" does not take viewers to a fantastical setting where people fly around hurling swords or kill hired goons with single punch techniques; instead, the fight scenes looked plausible and not far-fetched. The Malay Mail Online tells how the movie is a martial arts film enveloped in an elegantly-photographed costume drama, allowing the viewers to be transported back in time.

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Shu Qi was particularly amazing in playing the titular role. Straits Times reports how the director demanded a lot from the Taiwanese-born actress. Not only did the actresses end up with a lot of cuts and bruises, there were also times that she almost broke down and was preparing herself to dispute with the director.

Receiving an A- grade from the A.V. Club, the movie has been told to be a highly mesmerizing movie that is exploding in color, though this is reportedly the most commercial movie that Hou Hsiao-Hsien has ever made. However, he did state that he does not want anything to do with Hollywood, even though he worked with Hollywood-like finances, playing to the tune of US$15 million. Despite getting a handful of negative reviews, the flick received wide praises from different movie critics, stating that the movie was mesmerizing, staggeringly lovely, and can definitely be called a masterpiece.  Here is to hoping that the Chinese director will soon grace the mainstream movies with his great art direction skills and craftsmanship.

TagsThe Assassin, Cannes Film Festival, Shu Qi