Watch: New International Trailer For Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 'The Assassin'

While the wait was long between films—seven years between "Flight Of The Red Balloon" and "The Assassin"—Hou Hsiao-Hsien was amply rewarded for his efforts this spring at the Cannes Film Festival where he walked away with the Best Director trophy. And now his evocative picture is hitting the big screen around the world and a new international trailer is here.

Chang Chen and Shu Qi take the lead roles in the story set in 9th century China, where an assassin, raised and trained in exile, is sent on a mission back to where she came from with orders to kill the man she was supposed to marry thirteen years earlier. Here’s the synopsis from Cannes:

9th century China. 10-year-old general’s daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised – a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings. A slave to the orders of her mistress, Nie Yinniang must choose: sacrifice the man she loves or break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins.

Check out the trailer below and keep an eye out for a U.S. release date from Well Go Entertainment. [Cine Maldito]