The Grandmaster is still in theaters! It is based on the story of Ip Man, the kung fu master who popularized the (deceptively simple?) Wing Chun style of kung fu and who eventually took on a young student who would come to be known in the U.S. as Bruce Lee. I encourage one and all (those who might need a nudge anyway) to see this gorgeous film by the brilliant filmmaker 王家衛 Wong Kar Wai. For those of you who are not interested in kung fu, don’t think of this as a kung fu film. It transcends genre expectations, to my mind. The “fight” scenes are gracefully integrated into the overall story; there are no pointless macho fist fights just for the sake of them. It is about history, emigration, exile, loss, legacy, sacrifice, love, dignity, and one man’s path to becoming a true teacher. If you’ve seen the director’s intensely atmospheric, emotional, and color-saturated In the Mood for Love, you won’t be disappointed with this film. More (?) monochromatic, but more grave, it is drenched in operatic, kinesthetics and exquisite close-ups/slow-downs of physical structures reverberating and shattering with the force of bodies being tossed like (glamorous, graceful) ragdolls, I was quite happy with the cinematography and editing. It unfolds almost like a silent film or like a set of paintings. The formal composition supports the themes but it’s not stiff or overly stylized.
Nope, doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test. There are three women who are named but they do not talk to each other. But/and, the injustice of the limitations of womanhood (at least in the traditional and dynastic kung fu world) is brought to the fore through Zhang Ziyi’s character, the daughter and sole heir to the Gong “64 Hands” style of kung fu. There are some troubling aspects to her character and to the way that women are portrayed (to go into them would require some spoilers), but mostly they’re portrayed with dignity, even the women employees of the brothel that serves as an important setting. This film is not concerned with tawdry thrills or with exploiting its characters, even its minor ones. It was pro-Chinese, pro-kung fu, and pro-Ip Man.
Age note: Zhang is 34 and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is 51.
Zhang Ziyi’s character, Gong Er, is an Athena archetype–a “father’s daughter” and I felt her performance was the most mature I’ve seen from her. Perhaps because she FINALLY looks like she might be a bit older than 19. In fact, she is finally 34, and in one scene in which she is particularly vulnerable, you can (surely on purpose) see her freckles instead of her usual porcelain-mask-type look. It’s not her fault that she looks like a doll with her exquisite, petite features and her adorable attached earlobes!
CINEMA FOR (ALL) THE PEOPLE 