The Grandmaster (2013)
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.
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3 films that influenced The Grandmaster
What critics say influenced The Grandmaster
He’s perfectly matched by the beautiful Zhang, bringing much of the energy she brought to hits like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “House of Flying Daggers.”
As a young girl she wowed in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and also "House of Flying Daggers" (2004).
You also have to fight the disappointment that Zhang has put away the wild and wildish things of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Rush Hour 2; House of Flying Daggers; 2046; or the all-Mandarin version of Dangerous Liaisons.
A poignant reunion with Ip in Hong Kong resonates with the signature longing in Wong’s “In the Mood for Love,” “2046” and “My Blueberry Nights.”
In a sense it is a martial arts film, but it’s primarily a drama dealing with that recurring Wai theme of fleeting, unfulfilled love, which formed the centre of his most widely known film to date, In the Mood For Love.
The picture is no less aching than Wong’s hyper-romantic 2000 masterpiece, “In the Mood for Love,” which also starred Tony Leung, now in his early 50s.
Known for such ethereal and evocative efforts as Chungking Express, My Blueberry Nights, In the Mood for Love, and 2046, he struggled with the structure and pace.
It's often a brutal contest, monitored by such odd scorekeepers as a bucket of melting ice ("As Tears Go By"), the expiration date on a can of fruit (" Chungking Express "), a train depot clock ("Days of Being Wild") and the steep stairwell leading to a noodle stand (" In the Mood for Love ").
There, he reconnects with his past in a way that movingly recalls the haunting would-be romance of Wong’s “In the Mood for Love.”
Although its trailers tout massive battles and advertise breakneck action set to the strains of music from The RZA, The Grandmaster is much more Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero than The Man With the Iron Fists or Kill Bill.
Think of it as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets The Last Emperor.
The beautiful action sequences, reminiscent of those fight-flying combat scenes popular in early millennial crossover hits like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero are here interspersed with real-world concerns: Hand-to-hand combat is rendered almost arbitrary when the idyllic Chinese setting is ravaged by foreign soldiers with guns and bombs during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
To this end, he makes fine use of the work of gifted fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, who stages the fight scenes, a job he also performed for movies such as The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Drunken Master.
Those who are interested in pure ballet—the fluid, wired fights of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The Matrix—are likely to come away disappointed.
Instead of the same hashed out Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style of fighting that has plagued other films (RZA’s The Man With the Iron Fists, for example), Yip Man’s fights are quiet and meditative.