The Assassin (Nie yin niang)

Taiwanese New Wave director Hsiao-Hsien Hou's The Assassin (Nie yin niang) was screened this past summer at the St. Louis International Film Festival to great acclaim and was also a sensation at Cannes. Set in Tang Dynasty China, this vigorous historical drama of palace intrigue and treachery follows Nie Yinniang, who was abducted as a child and raised by a nun who trains her in martial arts. After a thirteen-year exile, Nie returns home as a skilled killer with orders to dispose of the man her parents chose as her future husband. The movie perfectly balances fast-paced action with intense silences and gorgeous cinematography. The Webster Film Series screens The Assassin at 7:30 p.m. nightly Friday, January 15, through Saturday, January 23, at Webster University's Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; 314-968-7487 or www.webster.edu/film-series). Tickets are $4 to $6.