The first martial arts film from auteur director Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Flight of the Red Balloon) combines some impressive swordplay with slower, more poetic passages, a mix that has intrigued critics but might divide Academy voters.
Well Go USAWhile it may have missed out on an Oscar foreign-language nomination, The Assassin has emerged as frontrunner at the Asian Film Awards. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s martial-arts film picked up nine nominations, followed by Mountains May Depart, Veteran and Mr. Six, each with four.
The Assassin was nominated in the best film, director, actress, supporting actress, cinematography, original music, costume design, production design, and sound categories. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
The best film race consists of The Assassin, Chinese co-production Mountains May Depart, India’s Bajirao Mastani, Japan’s Three Stories of Love, China’s Mr. Six, and South Korea’s Veteran.
Donnie Yen of Hong Kong box office hit Ip Man 3 is nominated for a best actor gong, with Nagase Masatoshi of Japan’s An, Feng Xiaogang of China’s Mr. Six, Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea’s Inside Men, and John Arcilla of The Philippine’s Heneral Luna also in contention.
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The best actress category is a contest between Zhao Tao of Mountains May Depart, Shu Qi of The Assassin, Ayase Haruka of Japan’s Our Little Sister, Kim Hye-soo of South Korea’s Coin Locker Girl, and Karena Lam of Taiwan’s Zinnia Flower.
The nominations included thirty-six films from nine countries. Twenty-two films from China or Chinese co-productions were nominated for awards in fifteen categories, followed by sixteen from Japan.
A new category, best sound, was introduced this year.
The fifteen-member jury will be presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To this year, with jury members including Hong Kong actor Sean Lau and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan.
Marking the tenth edition of the Asian Film Awards, organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the awards ceremony will be held on March 17 at the Venetian Theater in Macau.
Asian Film Awards Nominations
Best Film
Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, China)
The Assassin (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan)
Bajirao Mastani (India)
Three Stories of Love (Japan)
Mr. Six (China)
Veteran (South Korea)
Best Director
Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart
Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin
Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Our Little Sister
Guan Hu, Mr. Six
Ryoo Seung-wan, Veteran
Best Actor
Donnie Yen, Ip Man 3
Nagase Masatoshi, An
Feng Xiao-gang, Mr. Six
Lee Byung-Hun, Inside Men
John Arcilla, Heneral Luna
Best Actress
Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart
Shu Qi, The Assassin
Ayase Haruka, Our Little Sister
Kim Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl
Karena Lam, Zinnia Flower
Best Supporting Actor
Max Zhang, Ip Man 3
Michael Ning, Port of Call
Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore
Oh Dal-soo, Assassination
Cheng Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk
Best Supporting Actress
Zhuo Yun, The Assassin
Tsuchiya Anna, Gonin Saga
Cherry Ngan, Mojin – The Lost Legend
Ueno Juri, The Beauty Inside
Park So-dam, The Priests
