Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster is less a straightforward marshal
arts film and more a Wong Kar-Wai film. Including many of his hallmarks, above
all the film is about love and loss – an art house movie that is curiously
playing at the wrong mall (Walden Galleria and not Eastern Hills). That shouldn’t
stop you: the film first opens in the past with a great action sequence in the
rain (it’s prominently featured in the trailers).
The structure is dense: much has been made of the “American
cut” – 30 minutes shorter than the Chinese Cut, I’m not sure what’s been
altered but I imagine the American cut includes archival footage which plugs in
a few holes a western audience may have (trust me, the more clues here, the
better). Ip Man (Tony Leung) of the south is threatened by the arrival of Gong
Yutian from the North. There is a conflict that leads into a signature Wong
Kar-Wai romance between Gong Er (who can kick some ass) and Ip Man, leading to correspondence
and heartbreak. These emotions are a the core of Wai’s film: this is
essentially In The Mood for Love with the occasional action sequence.
The Grandmaster is a glorious experience, one that’s quite
hard to describe. Even as I was disoriented I was intrigued: the film is a
little puzzle, often putting beautiful images ahead of their context which can
be a little frustrating (in fact I witnessed four walk-outs) but is neither the
less quite rewarding.
Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, Dipson Flix
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