The Emperor and the Assassin

Before the Qin armies move on the other kingdoms, the King of Qin (Li Xuejian) sends his own concubine, Lady Zhao (Gong Li), into enemy territory with an order he cannot say aloud: find a man who can be made into an assassin. Chen Kaige follows her through a China still split into warring states. Zhao keeps to the plan, but the longer she serves a ruler whose cruelty only grows, the less certain she is whose side she is on.