The acclaim was not in short supply last year for Hou Hsiao-Hsien‘s "The Assassin." The martial arts movie earned Best Director and Best Soundtrack at the Cannes Film Festival, was a critical darling, and landed on numerous best-of lists. But screenwriter and director Paul Schrader is having none of it.
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Quite randomly, the director fired off his opinion about the picture on Facebook last night, writing that it’s "a compendium of art house cliches" that’s "overall, meh," before invoking the mighty God Pauline Kael to return and back up his claims. Schrader is free to dislike the film, but considering he hasn’t made a good film himself in quite some time, it’s not a great look to casually spout off about one of 2015’s most well received films. Just a thought.
Schrader later doubled down on his comments, saying that "critics and viewers consciously or unconsciously purchase shares in an artist’s work," to the point where they can to blind to any flaws. And that’s a fair argument, because that certainly does happen, with some fans and critics embracing directors so closely that they get a lot more leeway if their pictures don’t work. And for Schrader, "The Assassin" falls into that camp because "the assumption by stock holders that it it must be a masterpiece because he worked on it for eight years."
Check out his posts below, and hit the comments section to share your thoughts.
Schrader is on the money. I say this as someone who counts Hou among his favorite living filmmakers, and had been waiting for The Assassin like a kid who had had Christmas postponed seven years running. It just amounted to so, so little beyond its elegant staging. Perhaps my reaction would have been different if I were more familiar with the wuxia fiction upon which it was based, but I am not so sure of it.
Or maybe someone should feel free to express their opinions on facebook among a group of specific individuals, and not have to worry about some guy from a website stealing his comments and plastering them all over an article for everyone to see.
"considering he hasn\’t made a good film himself in quite some time, it\’s not a great look to casually spout off about one of 2015\’s most well received films"
So does this mean everyone at Indiewire should stop giving opinions on films?
how many great screenwriters are there at indiewire?
It\’s a bit pathetic how some people cannot bear a dissenting opinion. And the idea that Schrader cannot give a negative opinion because, according to the writer, he hasn\’t made a good film in a while, is utterly appalling. So the writer, having not made a film ever, can give a negative opinion on ten years of Schrader\’s career, but Schrader cannot give a negative opinion on one film ? What a childish way to think.
And to all the other children who bash Schrader because he dares to not share your opinion of that film, please, do grow a basic intellectual backbone.
Just lol. Paul Schrader is a joke. Wrote Taxi Driver and maybe a couple other alright movies. Other than that he is honestly a hack. A failed film director.
A disgrace of an article, commenting on a man\’s FB comments…just an opinion, and hardly newsworthy (especially given that you didn\’t even ask for more comments from the director, whom you malign by slamming his recent work, when you good and well know his output over the years has largely been outstanding. For my part, I agree with Schrader: THE ASSASSIN is pretty, but it\’s an uninvolving mess.
Keven Jagernauth is a compendium of Indiewire cliches.
Fucking troll.
They can\’t all be as great as The Canyons.
Regarding The Assassin, no matter how many years Hsao Hsien has been working on it, it is an excellent movie.
I do like his "share holders" illustration and I think we should use on him: if you consider Shrader\’s recent work, we should not even talk about him anymore!
"Schrader is free to dislike the film, but considering he hasn\’t made a good film himself in quite some time, it\’s not a great look to casually spout off about one of 2015\’s most well received films. Just a thought."
The guy used to write film criticism before he started making films, how many have you made? Also it\’s called an opinion, we don\’t all have to like the pretentious bullshit hipsters like yourself fawn over.
"Schrader later doubled down on his comments, saying that "critics and viewers consciously or unconsciously purchase shares in an artist\’s work," to the point where they can to blind to any flaws. And that\’s a fair argument, because that certainly does happen, with some fans and critics embracing directors so closely that they get a lot more leeway if their pictures don\’t work."
Case in point this place, some of the directors you guys love and review on here could make a snuff movie and you\’d love it, providing it\’s independently made and allows you to stroke your beards and ponder, also have a shave mate for gods sake, you\’re not a frontiersman and it isn\’t the 1960\’s anymore.
More and more i\’ve been reading comments on here about how pretentious this place has become, i knew it was pretentious when i first visited the site but now it\’s becoming unbearable.
100% True, even though Schrader himself sucks as filmmaker.
I have a lot of admiration for the indiewire conglomerate, but this seems like shitty snide clickbait posturing, which seems a bit below your usual standards. It\’s fine for someone to dislike a critically acclaimed film and make no difference whether they\’re in the public eye or not. The fact his work has been sub par for all of 2/3 films seems more like you sticking the knife in than any meaningful statement. Also – \’not a great look\’ what are you, fucking Cosmopolitan?
Classy, Indiewire. Classy. (NOT)
Haven\’t seen Assassins, but he\’s right. Whole frenchises live on a sizable of audiences and critics overlooking flaws. Star Wars is one good example. And is it me or does it seem like masterpieces are dime a dozen these days?
Hey Kevin Jagernauth, your reporting skills are examples of whimpering gossip passing and spreading through your cut and paste keys only. Simply slapping up your flimsy opinion to undermine Paul\’s casual, friendly post to his Facebook friends and followers proves you not only to be completely unqualified for journalistic postition but also clearly incapable of expressing any thoughtful, explanatory argument. You are evidence of how worthless online news sites truly are.
People have opinions. It\’s a good thing. It creates conversation. Lambasting someone for having an opinion and trying to turn it into a clickbaiting article is the kind of stupid I often find myself hating Indiewire for. Will we see an article calling out the Indiewire critic for bashing on THE MEND despite pretty wide acclaim everywhere else?
What a disgraceful excuse for an article–reportage on a writer/director\’s FB feed. But let me say this: THE ASSASSIN is an overrated mess. Schrader got it absolutely correct.
…just a thought.
Movie reviewers who have never made a film, period, give their opinions all the time. And Schrader is well-versed in film history and has enough good will in the bank from his books on film and the films he has written and/or directed to spout off now and again on the quality. It\’s his opinion.
It would seem that Schrader is reacting to the fawning critical coverage of the film more than the actual film…too bad he couldn\’t express himself in a manner that didn\’t come off as a cross between a pompous film studies professor and a first time internet troll.
Way to prove my point by deleting my comment.
"Schrader is free to dislike the film, but considering he hasn\’t made a good film himself in quite some time, it\’s not a great look to casually spout off about one of 2015\’s most well received films. Just a thought."
Jeez, Kevin, what a childish swipe
to disregard someone\’s opinion. Many people can judge a creative work with intelligence even if their own creative output is lacking. I certainly read your own writing even though the published material is posted with errors that you will later covertly fix and then delete the comments calling you out on it.
I\’m curious to see what kind of traction these comments from Schrader can get, and from what quarters.
I feel the same way about The Revenant. "But overall, meh".
The Assassin is a much shallower movie than Hou\’s Alienation Trilogy (Millenium Mambo, Cafe Lumiere, Three Times), which I find to be deeper and better films. But while the content of the Assassin is rather rote (an Assassin with a conscience), it\’s a sumptuous film that transports you directly into the world. Its pleasures are solely aesthetic, but rewarding nonetheless.
Buying shares in a director – like the Playlist with James Gray!
Paul Schrader is a compendium of bitter, has-been filmmaker cliches.
"Schrader is free to dislike the film, but considering he hasn\’t made a good film himself in quite some time, it\’s not a great look to casually spout off about one of 2015\’s most well received films. Just a thought."
Maybe he hasn\’t made a good movie in quite some time, but when have you ever made a good movie? Or a movie? When you invoke the "what have you done lately?" argument to diss someone\’s opinion, be prepared to have it thrown back at you.
Is this what Paul Schrader turned into?
"feeded on"?
The Canyons is an embarrassment.
Agree. And I count Millennium Mambo as one of my favorite movies ever.