'The Assassin' (2015) – Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

Beautifully shot with consummate style, the exhilaratingly mounted martial arts sequences, and a no less luminous performance by Shu Gi as stealthy killer Nie Yinniang provides an uncommonly sumptuous feast for film fans. Hsiao-Hsien's dazzling, melancholic, rigorously engrossing feature's non-combative elements prove no less compelling, making this enchanting, visually exquisite film an absolute must-see event! As an avid, life-long, and some might say, overtly obsessive fan of Asian cinema, I found The Assassin to be both profoundly moving, and an especially potent endorphin booster! Spellbinding spectacle, tinged with tragedy, this is a remarkably refined film that is as meticulously executed as Yianniang's victims. On a more subjective note, I found the production design to be exquisite, not only the lavish interiors, but the rustic, magnificent-looking 9^th century agricultural dwellings.