‘The Grandmaster’ succeeds with stunning film, unique style
As the film’s American marketing brings to the forefront, “The Grandmaster” follows the life of Ip Man (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) before he trained martial arts and movie legend Bruce Lee. The film captures the conflicts between different martial arts teachers and their styles. Ip Man taught and spread throughout the world a style of martial arts known as Wing Chun. He married Cheung Wing-sing (Hye-kyo Song) but always had a deep love for Gong Er (Ziyi Zhang, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) that fate, tragically, never allowed to flourish.
Compared to this past weekend’s frantic release, “Getaway,” “The Grandmaster” is in a coma. However, this is a good thing. Audiences that have patience and maturity will be rewarded by the character development of Ip Man and the people in his life. Much of this film features its characters quiet and reserved, which makes the fight scenes all the more explosive and effective. Even in the fight scenes, there is a grace and smoothness to the bloodless violence.
The action is choreographed by Woo-ping Yuen, who worked on the Jackie Chan film “Drunken Master” and, more recently, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and the “Kill Bill” series. The first fight scene in the film takes place in the dark and rain as a large group of men attack Ip Man, who is on his own. It is a credit to Yuen, director Kar Wai Wong, and cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd that the viewer can always tell what is happening during the action.
Back in China, the film was released at 130 minutes, but the American release has been cut to 108 minutes. This must account for some of the fuzziness of the film’s timeline. One isn’t always sure where in history and where in Ip Man’s life the film is at all times.
Even during talkative and sometimes overly languid scenes, the screen glows with beauty and stunning imagery. The confusing timeline only adds to the film’s dreamlike quality. The film is not so much a bio-pic that goes from Point A, to B, to C but rather a lush piece of art that flows from scene to scene and moment to moment. In some ways, the film is more like music. Wong is more interested in leaving a vivid impression on the audience than just providing a factual account of a man’s life.
That life has been brought to the silver screen before, most noticeably with “Ip Man” from 2008, which won Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Now Kar Wai Wong has created his own vision of Ip Man.
Wong is an internationally acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker who has directed films such as “Chungking Express,” “Fallen Angels,” “In the Mood for Love” and “2046.” “Love” is widely considered by film critics and historians as one of the very best films of the previous decade. He has taken his distinct cinematic style and placed it in martial arts film.
The result is a beautifully rendered portrait of a legend whose skill has greatly influenced martial arts both in real life and in the movies.