John Woo's new film has martial arts, but also women and love.

John Woo describes his new Chinese film as a cross between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Face/Off, only set in ancient China.

Michelle Yeoh plays a female assassin in the film Reign of Assassins. [China Daily]

 

Titled Reign of Assassins, it follows a female assassin who wants to become a housewife. But it is not easy to abandon one's past.

Armed with an ancient monk's remains that can unleash destructive power, she embarks on a deadly pursuit of other assassins.

It is scripted by Taiwan director Su Chao-pin and co-directed by Woo, who says he loves the story.

"I think he (Su) was inspired by Face/Off, but he will not admit it," Woo says, with his signature shy smile. "Both stories are about people who want to destroy their past and lead a different life. But that is difficult."

The story also has shades of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in that the assassin marries a skilled swordsman who works as a postman.

"I love the story because it is very different from most wuxia films," Woo says. "It tells human-interest stories, while many wuxia (stories are about) just fight for fight's sake."

Also, the film is a dream come true for the 64-year-old veteran. Known for gunplay films such as A Better Tomorrow and Windtalkers, Woo has long wanted to shoot films about wuxia, women and love. Now he has all in one film.

"Sword is the new gun in this film," he says. "Gun or sword, as long as they are used right, can stand for integrity and justice, not violence."

Michelle Yeoh, star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Mummy 3, leads the cast. An old friend of Woo, she wins high praise from the director.

"She is as brave as Jackie Chan," Woo says. "She used to be a dancer, so her fighting sequences are both beautiful and powerful."

The film is also a love story, Woo says. "You will see how a woman gives up everything for love."

Yeoh, in turn, describes Woo as the real star on the set.

"Every day I find more and more people on the set, all fans of Woo," she laughs. "Everybody wants to watch how he directs the film. He is very gentlemanly, always smiling, (saying) okay, good, but (what about) another take?"

Yeoh also says Woo gives Su much freedom to direct. He always seeks Su's opinion first, before giving his advice.

"He never tells Su to do something or not to do something, I think this is the way really accomplished men do things," Yeoh gushes.

Su is not the first young director Woo has supported. He has produced the works of two young directors and is aiding Taiwan director Wei Te-Sheng's new epic Seediq Bale (literally "a real man" in the language of the Seediqs, a Taiwan aboriginal group).

"I like working with young talents," he says. "Sometimes, they just need an opportunity."