Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien speaks about The Assassin
Lights, camera, action · Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien is the mastermind behind The Assassin, out Oct. 16 in select theaters. Famous for not having rehearsals before production, Hsiao-Hsien did extensive research in order to achieve an accurate look of the Tang dynasty. – Photo courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
Every great director has a defining style. David Fincher’s meticulous attention to detail is achieved through the use of countless takes. Almost every Alfred Hitchcock-helmed movie features an icy blonde on the run. Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien, however, is famous for his
no-rehearsal rule.
Making a movie without the safety net of rehearsals might sound like a daunting task, especially because Hou’s latest film, The Assassin, centers on a female crusader tasked with killing corrupt government officials. As with any film of the wuxia genre, the movie showcases intricate fighting sequences. But Hou contends that a lack of rehearsal did not affect production. Rather, it made the film stronger, as the structure of shooting allowed there to be more focus on the action.
“We would practice a particular part of the movie and shoot that,” Hou said in a roundtable interview through an interpreter. “We would shoot a few movements here, stop, let them practice and come back for the next part and break everything down in bits and pieces.”
To add further dimension to his film, Hou also employed the use of both professional and
non-professional actors. Hou said his directing style never changed between the background actors of The Assassin, including those who played servants and the village people, and the actors who got first bill.
“I personally get in the situation, get in the context of what they’re doing, and often they’re able to discern and figure out what they should do as we move on,” Hou said. “So, once you have the camera ready, once you have the lights set up, everything is ready to go.”
But the allure of the film goes beyond the acting. To capture ancient China as accurately as possible, Hou and his team did extensive research on the time period, reading historical documents such as Old Book of Tang and New Book of Tang. Moreover, with the addition of silk curtains and fabrics, the film shows the opulence of that time period. Still, Hou maintains that it is hard to precisely express the essence of that time.
“The times have changed,” Hou said. “It would be great to have a time machine to go back to Tang Dynasty and know exactly what the world looks like and come back, but obviously that’s not possible.”
Another element that differentiates The Assassin from other films is the use of 35mm film. After scenes were captured, they were scanned and transferred into a digital format. But the use of film is an expensive tactic, as over the course of The Assassin’s production, more than 440,000 feet of film went into shooting, but only 10,000 feet of footage made it into the film. Though Hou said the film adds many layers, he was interested in using digital means for his next movie, especially because much of media content is now found on the internet.
“I feel like cinema is really changing, really evolving,” Hou said. “A lot of people consume content and watch movies on the internet, so I feel like what might happen is that visual expression might change because of how people are looking at images on the screen. There could be many interesting possibilities in terms of what we can do because now you can play with the expression and frame.”
At the possibility of using other mediums for his films, Hou felt optimistic that digital films can actually contribute to filmmaking that is more tailored to personal interests.
“I feel like [digitalization] can actually help increase personal filmmaking because now you have the freedom to play around with a visual language because it’s no longer confined to the theatrical screen,” Hou said. “Without the confines of a certain size to fit. I see it as something that could actually be helpful to the evolution of cinema.”