The Grandmaster

The Grandmaster is another film which tells a snapshot of the life of Ip Man and as such perhaps doesn't stand out as something worth seeing on this basis alone, however the director and the cast both attracted me to the film. The plot follows Ip Man as he rises in status thanks to an interaction with Master Gong Yutian. Man and Yutian's daughter Er start a relationship based on their martial arts although Man is married and Er is driven by other forces and cannot be together. Things take other turns when the Japanese occupy China and Man and Er's lives take different paths.

I have written about the plot here but really this is not a part of the film where it is at its best. There is an engaging tone of tragic restraint which is generated from the themes of honor, respect, love and loss but generally the film doesn't make the most of these. The biggest problem is the way the film is structured – it feels very freeflowing and not focused on delivering a narrative so much as a flow or feel. In some ways I liked this a lot but in others it did leave me outside looking in too often. Characters strike poses and expressions that show their pain and their challenges but the material doesn't bring that out as well as I would have liked. Fortunately the performances of the main cast show that they have understood this even if the film's structure doesn't help them. Tony Leung gives us a lot with very little; he has a very expressive face and this he uses well. Ziyi Zhang deserves credit too as she delivers a strong performance – one that really would have benefited from more structure in the overall delivery. The supporting cast features several engaging turns (Qingxiang Wang, Chen Chang and others) but the real star of the film is Kar Wai Wong and his cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd.

I say this because the film is at its best in the stylish visual packaging. The martial arts action is well choreographed and enjoyably and skillfully delivered, but around this there is a great deal to enjoy as the camera captures so many beautiful scenes and beautiful shots, whether they be a fight in the pouring rain or a great shot of a static character. Visually the film really captivated me and the only downside of this was that it made me realize that the story didn't do this as well. The film is still worth seeing but the fragmented structure means it will feel like it is delivering bits of the story and expecting us to be really engaged in the characters even though it very much jumps into key points without a great deal of a link.

The most under-appreciated films usually emerge later as gems, often 10, 20 or even 50 years later. For example, Citizen Kane didn't win an Academy Award but 20 years later, it was considered one of the greatest films made. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) was a critically acclaimed film when released but is really considered more of a gem today than 30-40 years ago. Like fine wine, films get better as they age. Once Upon in the West (1968) when released was celebrated in Europe but panned in the US. Twenty years alter, it is considered one of the greatest films ever made. The Grandmaster comes very close to these films.

The three reasons this film is panned: 1) People want action, the figure Ip Man represents action and this film breaks from traditional kung fu movies but in the same vein as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In essence, it is just as good as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There is plenty of action but martial arts fans want Jet Li, Donnie Yen or Michelle Yeoh. Hence, they will never give this film an 8, 9 or 10. Action is great, but it's second-rate to the true martial artist fan. 2), People find it complex. The plot is quite simple, really. I suspect it's more about reading prose and not realizing it's poetry. Plot is about Ip Man rising to the best in the South and to be challenged by the northern martial artists but war stops everything. half of the movie is about tradition and honor, not about martial arts. Definitely not about good guy beats up bad guy which draws most people's attention and praise. 3) Ip Man and Gong Er fall in a type of forbidden, unrequited love. It's bounded more by cultural beliefs than personal beliefs. But to many, this subplot slows or kills the action plot. But love isn't complicated, or at least we shouldn't see it that way.

On another final note, this film isn't about confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist. Rather, Ip Man doesn't really have an opposing challenge. His challenges are friends, as real martial artists become friends, as mentioned. They test each others' skills and build respect for each other, much like the test fight with Razor. It is the pretenders who fight, like Ma San. It is about honor and respect, not about violence.

Movie fans who want a real martial artist star will prefer Donnie Yen in Ip Man (2008) which is artistically almost as good a film. In contrast, The Grandmaster is better written, better acted and better cinematography, but Ip Man with Donnie Yen has better fighting scenes. Keep in mind, Bruce Lee never made great films, they were rather B type films but people love his iconic charisma. Many will like the film for the star, not the quality.

So like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this film is mystical and really, martial arts is more a scenic subplot into a man and his world. Or what director Kar Wai Wong intended. Regardless, a question is that should one pan a film because of what it isn't? Or should one celebrate a film for what it is? A parent celebrates and loves each child, regardless of how different. How can we celebrate this film?

1. It's slow but that gives a chance to watch the direction and cinematography which is exquisite. One doesn't rush through The Louvre, but savors the moment. It's quite masterful and poetic. 2. The screenplay and script. Brilliantly done. The dialogue is simple in appearance but every other line has a double meaning. Not since Once Upon a Time in the West has a simple dialogue taken on so many directions. The viewer has to focus on the words and what they mean. 3. There is beautiful scenes, significant cultural symbolism but it is broken down simplistically, most of the symbolism is cultural. It's not hard to understand, just place yourself in another world. It's not a simplistic film like Rocky. Quite the opposite but yet the plot is quite simple, if you realize it's not just about kung fu. Watching Master Gong Yutian practice in the snowy garden was magnificent. The brothel scenes with the martial artists was surprisingly a wealth of characters, costumes and sets. 4. Acting is strong with Ziyi Zhang leading and maybe overshadowing Tony Chiu Wai Leung. To some, that's not sensible: why not a film to showcase Donnie Yen with real moves? Bu Donnie isn't as somber an actor. We see the pain and modesty of Ip Man through Tony Chiu Wai Leung. The plain expressiveness of the actors casts a shadow over the difficult history, the winter months as Ip Man narrates. Ziyi represents the forbidden martial arts, the family secrets, the traditional view of outsiders. Hence she has an important symbolism. Ip Man represents the new, the invention of Bruce Lee and exposure of Wing Chun to the world.

The ending was slightly out of place given the poetry of the film. We didn't need Ip Man to give his final quote, although it was snappy, it was out of place. Perhaps, just a fade from the photo shoot with the young Bruce Lee.

Just watch and appreciate artistic quality. Real martial arts fans will appreciate the descriptions and dialog over different styles of martial arts. This film won't be really in a Top 100 list of greatest films, but it comes close and should be in a top 250-500 list of great films. Or one of the 50 best films of the decade. A gem. It just isn't a traditional martial arts fan film, rather an Arts House film.

I'm not sure whether to give this film a 8.5, 9, 9.5…but seeing the relatively IMDb scores (6.5 at this time), I'm boosting it to its rightful place.

When Wong Kar Wai announced he will start to make a movie about Ip Man, a few followed, all made and shown with success before Wong complete his. Knowing that a WKW movie is never straightforward story-telling, I know his will be different from all others but wonder how different will it be compared to his "Ashes of Time". I will not write anything about the story or the script as I believe it will take some joy away from anyone who is going to watch it. I watched the original first released version. I am dumbfounded, especially with Zhang Ziyi(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha, 2046)and Tony Leung's action. They are not Jet Li or Michelle Yeoh but in this movie, they fought so convincingly well that you will think they really know Wing Chun(a type of Chinese Kung-fu). For those who find Wong Kar Wai's past movies too stylish, artistic or difficult to understand, this one is different and most suitable for the general audience but without lacking in style or arts. If there is any complaint, it will be from fans of Tony Leung who may feel that he is overshadowed by Zhang, especially in the action scenes. Just like her Crouching Tiger movie, I believe she acted so well, so much so that the director kept more of her scenes for the final movie.(She is nominated for best actress in the coming China-equivalent of the Oscar). Never have I seen any movie in the past where an actress did so well in both action and drama scenes in the same film. Another actor deserved a mention is Taiwanese Zhang Chen; he is equally as compelling as Zhang in both action and drama here although his screen time is short. Tony Leung did not give me any surprise aside from the action scenes. As for the cinematography, editing and the rest, I think others have already raved enough. Go watch it before reading too much. This is what I call a real movie. It's meant to be seen, not read.

This film tells the story of Chinese Martial Arts Master IP man , the most famous fighter of China and around the world ; this is the tale of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee . In fact , Bruce Lee trained in Wing Chun and later developed his own hybrid martial arts philosophy . IP Man was the founder and spiritual guru of the Win Chun . This luxurious Kung Fu film was marvelously filmed with good production design , colorful cinematography , spectacular combats and breathtaking scenes . The flick displays lots of violence , action filled , fierce fights though turns out to be overlong and some tiring . It deals with Ip Man's (Tony Leung) peaceful existence in Foshan , but his life changes when Gong Yutian (Wan) seeks a successor for his family in Southern China . Ip Man then meets Gong Er (Ziyi Zhang) who challenges him for the sake of regaining her father's honor . Later on , there takes place the Second Chinese-Japanese War , as Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide food and comfort for his family but they decease . While , Gong Er takes the way of revenge after her father is wrongly murdered .

Good film starring Tony Leung , based on the true story of the martial arts master IP Man . Tony Chiu Wai Leung trained four hours a day for a year in preparation for his role . This moving Chop-Socky displays drama , action-packed , thrills , and wild fighting images . It is an action-filled and violent film , being filmed in Shanghái , Foshan, Kaiping ,Guangdong, and Shenyang, Liaoning, China . Director Kar Wai Wong establishes his signature style of kinetically-paced story-telling through sumptuous imagery , leading to international critical acclaim . The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with frenetic action , surprises , fierce combats and groundbreaking struggles . The rousing fights with deadly use of fists , feet and palms ; actors exercised ¨Wing Chun¨ it is a Chinese martial art that emphasizes short-range practical combat with direct punches and blocks and low kicks , its practitioners are trained to quickly approach and engage opponents at close range , this can negate the longer range of taller opponents by attacking from inside their offensive perimeter. Fights , attacks and exciting combats very well staged by expert fighters , the result is a strong entry for art martial buffs . Amid the glamour and grandeur of the scenarios is developed an intrigue between Chinese-Japanese confrontation and about a fighter master who attempts to restore his name . Groundbreaking combats among Tony Leung , Ziyi Zhang and a lot of enemy fighters . Classic as well as impressive Chop-Socky in which wild fighting scenes provide an overwhelming view of Tony Leung/Ziyi Zhang's skills . Actors made their owns stunts ; some of the players got injured and to had to be hospitalized during the shooting , some of them suffered mild concussions during filming, after being struck several times during fighting scenes .

The motion picture was well directed by Kar Wai Wong , but some moments results to be a little boring and slow moving . He is 1st Chinese to win the Best Director Award at Cannes film Festival (1997) for "In the Mood for Love" and has directed several successes such as ¨My Blueberry nights¨, ¨2046¨, ¨Happy together¨, ¨Fallen Angels¨ and ¨Chungking Express¨. And , of course , this ¨The Grandmaster¨ that was official submission of Hong Kong to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category . One reason for the long development time of the movie was that the film spent over a year in editing before director Kar Wai Wong was satisfied . The ¨Grandmaster¨project was announced almost 10 years before its final release, due to director Kar Wai Wong's endless perfectionism. Several other motion pictures about the Ip Man that were conceived after this announcement most famously ¨Ip Man¨ (2008) by Wilson Yip with Donny Yen , ¨IP Man 2¨ (2010) by Wilson Yip with Donnie Yen as Yip Man , Xiaoming Huang , Wong Shun-Leung , Sammo Hung Kam-Bo , Lynn Hung , Simon Yan and ¨IP Man 3¨ (2013) with Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as Ip Man, Gillian Chung , Jordan Chan and Eric Tsang , all of them were all released in the meantime.

'THE GRANDMASTER': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Critically acclaimed Kung Fu epic about legendary Chinese martial-arts master Ip Man. Ip Man was the Wing Chun grandmaster and his most famous student was Bruce Lee. This film chronicles the years leading up to his success as a martial arts teacher. It stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Ip Man and Zhang Ziyi as Gong Er, his main love interest. Kar Wai Wong directed and co-wrote the movie (with Jingzhi Zou and Haofeng Xu). Wong is famous for directing and writing other popular Hong Kong period piece dramas like '2046' and 'IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE'. I'd rate this flick about the same as Wong's others; I thought it was extremely beautiful to look at but it's also a tad too hard to follow and uninvolving.

The story focuses as much on Gong Er (Ziyi) as it does Ip Man and follows a love story between the two as they keep in contact for many years following a fight for Gong's family's honor. Ip Man had defeated her father, Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang) in a battle that was as much about philosophical ideas as combat. The film follows Ip Man's years during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1938, struggling through poverty with his family. It also focuses on Gong Er's attempt at vengeance against the man who murdered her father, Ma San (Zhang Jin).

The story is told in a very disjointed way and it was really hard for me to keep up with what was going on in it. I often find these epic Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks to be dull anyway and wasn't too interested in seeing this one. It did get mostly good reviews from critics though and it's nominated for two 2014 Oscars (in Cinematography and Costume Design). It definitely deserves those award nominations and is very breathtaking to look at. I also think Zhang Ziyi is one of the more beautiful and sexy women in cinema today and she gives a great performance here. I'm not sure how I feel about Leung Chiu-Wai as an actor, he's not bad in this movie but I didn't really learn to care for his character much at all. The martial-arts scenes are grand and epic though and I'm sure fans of the genre will be more than pleased.

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