Attention, Melbourne cinema fans! We have a great giveaway to hand out this week, courtesy of the Cinema Nova on Lygon Street: ten free double passes to see Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin at a special advance screening on Sunday 11 October at 10am.
So, if you’re in Melbourne and you’re the sort of person that likes nothing better than seeing a Cannes award-winning, Shu Qi-starring wuxia flick on a Sunday morning, get in touch via the form below. If you missed it at MIFF this year, this is your second chance to see it on the big screen!
Here’s Cinema Nova’s blurb:
Set in 9th century China, The Assassin is the story of Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi), who at ten years old is stolen away from her father in order to be trained as a high-level assassin, deadly and exacting in carrying out retribution against corrupt officials. Yet a decade later her past catches up with her when, disappointing her master with a failed mission, she is sent to eliminate the cousin (Chang Chen) to whom she was once set to marry. An elegiac tale of love and swordplay, this is true poetic cinema.
Shu Qi in The Assassin
I caught the film at SIFF this year, and elegiac is not a bad word for it — like Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time, The Assassin is contemplative and measured, with more of a focus on imagery and character than, well, beheading. Though there is a bit of that, too. It’s also absolutely stunning, from the sumptuous costumes and art direction to the graceful cinematography (from veteran Mark Lee Ping Bin).
If you’d like to catch Cinema Nova’s advance preview screening (Sunday 11 October at 10am), fill in the form below and we’ll pick ten winners out of a hat by midnight October 2. Winners will be contacted by email.
In Melbourne, The Assassin will be showing exclusively at Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon Street, Carlton. Opens November 5.
Here’s the trailer: