You walk into some movies expecting skiet, skop and donner but instead the film gives you something else. That's what happened to me with The Grandmaster. Yes, I was expecting beautifully filmed action choreography (dude Yuen Woo-ping is the choreographer - the same dude who did The Matrix, Kill Bill and countless other action movies.
I was expecting beautiful sets and costumes - if you've seen
Hero,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or
The Curse of the Golden Flower you know the Chinese are on point with production and costume design. Yet the film gave me a left hook with the philosophising about Kung fu. Master Yoda would be proud ... but I don't know if that's everyone's cup of tea.
The plot is about Ip Man (played by Tony Chiu Wai Leung not Donnie Yen), master of Wing Chun. His personal battles, martial arts ideological battles and the ever constant motif in some Chinese movies of late, the Japanesse occupation of China.
"Wing Chun 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. " (IMDB.com) .
So we meet Ip Man as the different styles, through their masters want prominence and he goes to represent for his style and country.
Yet at the heart of the film are not the fights and the stunt work but the philosophies of Kung fu. What should Kung fu mean? What does it mean to live with honour? What does mastery of Kung fu give or create?
The film is not perfect, running at 108 minutes you feel some characters like the Razor - a side character who starts his own school - are never truly developed and their real story is never really unpacked.
Then I found out via Wikipedia that the guys made 3 versions of the film, one for the international market at 108 minutes, one for the Chinese market at 130 minutes and one for the Berlin film festival at 123 minutes. So some of the story was left on the cutting floor ... then it kinda made sense - there is more to the story than what we saw.
The bad guy is cool, there are plenty of colourful characters and even a low key love story for the ladies and some of you very sensitive men out there.
The story maybe slightly flawed but it's a great experience, Kar Wai Wong who's made beautiful movies like
In the Mood for Love, gets his biggest and most expensive film to date.
It has made over US$50 million in China already and his reverence for his cultural history in this film must have gone a long way to make the audience connect with it. His reverence is seen in how some of the not-so-politically correct elements are not spoken about in the film.
The fact that Ip Man was a nationalist and did not support the communist party who finally took over China is dodged. Ip Man's possible opium addiction is also shied away from but this does not take away from what Kar Wai Wong has created. A film that shows that martial arts and Kung fu are not just about fancy kicks and self defense but there's a deep cultural, spiritual element that embodies it.
A nobility that is sometimes forgotten ... and if you want to find out what it is, you need to watch The Grandmaster but, if you want an uncomplicated skop, skiet and donner, watch Donnie Yen's version of
Ip Man movies.By the way, it's cool seeing the young Bruce Lee at the end - the little kid has the right kind of energy.
Rating: ***1/2
*junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trailer Watch Game of Thrones Season 4 - 3rd trailer "secretsMan this trailer dishes and dishes ... if you're not stoked for April 8 then I don't know what will excite you. If you read the books, the third trailer dishes good. Yes that was Bravoos you saw ... poor people who have not read the books will have to wait to see the show hehehehehehe
Captain America: the Winter Sodlier aka Captain America 2
Ja nee neh...the trailer looks good but I have a feeling the story is going to be whack.The previous Captain America was nice before Rogers was turned into the super sodlier - it was cliched and downhill from there.
I know Marvel is trying but I'm still not sold. It's cool though that Anthony Mackie is introduced here as Falcon (the world can do with more black superheroes) but I ain't buying this. I foresee another half-baked Thor 2 kinda movie. Watch this space.