Wong Kar-Wai wrote and directed The Grandmaster, the latest (and technically, if not for delays and Wong’s Kubrick like filmmaking, first) film to tell the tale of Ip Man. It should be noted though, that none of the films to date, including The Grandmaster, have given a historically accurate tale of Ip’s life. The film starts with the announced retirement of Gong Yutian, the current Grandmaster. Gong Yutian decides that both North and South should have their own heir’s as Grandmaster when he is gone and travels to FoShan, the home of Ip Man. Meanwhile the masters in the South are deciding who will represent them upon the Grandmasters arrival. Ip Man is chosen and subsequently challenged by three other southern masters each showcasing a different style. Ip then challenges Gong Yutian to what starts as a fight but ends in a battle of philosophy, a truer test of Ip’s Kung Fu. Gong Yutian declares Ip the winner and prepares to head back north. Gong Er, daughter of Gong Yutian, challenges and defeats Ip in a friendly fight, the winner of which is decided by who breaks a piece of furniture first. From here we follow Ip Man and Gong Yutian as their path’s cross through several historical moments in 20th century China. We follow Ip Man through several major trials during the Sino-Japanese war and eventual segregation from his family when Hong Kong’s borders are closed. Gong Er is trailed through her efforts to prove herself as a female martial artist and attempts to win her rightful place as Grandmaster in the North.
Did that synopsis seem jumpy and slightly confusing? There’s a reason for that, it’s accurate to the movie. I should say before I begin that the US version delivered by the Weinstein company is missing some 25 minutes….without having seen the complete version as intended by Wong Kar-Wai it’s hard for me to tell if the missing minutes had a direct impact on the flow of the story but it’s a safe assumption. First and foremost, I feel like this is a film, again possibly due to the Weinstein involvement, which has been marketed to us as a direct Ip Man story, similar to the immensely popular Donnie Yen films. I’ve even seen the title changed to the plural The Grandmasters, which would make much more sense. This film is not about the life of Ip Man as much as it is about the legacy of Gong Yutian and the effect his death had on the Kung Fu community in China. The first 45 minutes to an hour is brilliant, exactly what I was looking to see…then, seemingly out of nowhere it changes its focus to follow Gong Er’s pursuit of justice for her father and, to some extent, her quasi-romance with Ip Man. I don’t mind the extra plot points, well…the romance angle seemed to add nothing and only serve to take away Ip Man’s devotion to his family, but the real problem is that it’s just SO choppy. Imagine going to see a movie and getting up to go the bathroom every ten minutes. That’s how this film played…it’s almost like they cut a scene in the middle of an important development and drop you somewhere else completely. I would love to see the full director’s cut as I feel there is a great film in there somewhere, not this hacked up version we we’re delivered.
Though Martial Arts cinema has come a long way since the Shaw Brothers in terms of actual quality cinema, there’s really one main reason most people see these films, the fights. I’ll just say right now that the beauty you see in the trailers for the film is not trailer trickery. This is easily one of the most beautifully shot films I have seen. The use of stark contrasting colors and variable speed throughout shows that you can use Zack Snyder like camera tricks and not have it feel cheap. Previously I mentioned Ip Man having to prove himself to the other southern Masters; this segment was the pinnacle of perfection in the film. They managed to show the fights in an almost video game like way, but again without it feeling cheap or cheesy. To most westerners, Kung Fu is Kung Fu, we know nothing of the different styles even when they are put right in front of us. Wong Kar-Wai runs a name card complete with style over the beginning of each fight in this early segment. Though it sounds like something so small, it adds so much to understanding the beauty of what we are seeing. To the fight scenes themselves I feel like Yuen Woo-Ping, a legend in fight choreography, was at the top of his game but was undercut by Wong Kar-Wai with the use of quick cuts and close ups. If you want to use the Michael Bay style for Transformers fine, there’s nothing to really see anyway, but when you’re showcasing one of the most beautiful, lethal, and intricate dances known to existence the camera needs to be pulled back to fully appreciate it. This was the genius in Ip Man and Ip Man 2 the camera never lingered close for anything but a direct punch and was always pulled back enough to show the skill in even the smallest movement. Even with the shoddy camera work the fights will still have you short of breath with your jaw resting gleefully on your chest by the end.As much as it pains me to say this, The Grandmaster, is one to be skipped in theaters. That’s not to say it shouldn't be seen, you should definitely see this flick, but you should wait for the home video release with the director’s cut. Though I can’t say for sure, I have a good feeling the film we expected lies within that extended cut.
2.5 out of 5 Guttenbergs
