Not every recent Chinese martial art film brought to North America has to star Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Back in the 70′s, the name that was best known for introducing Americans to the scene was Bruce Lee. He introduced Westerners to a legacy that will never get forgotten, and the accolades that followed owe their devotion to Lee’s mentor, Ip Man. He helped introduce kung fu — at least one style of it, Wing Chun — to the masses.
The Grandmaster (一代宗师) looks at the life and legacy that Ip Man left behind, and that gets wonderfully played by Tony Leung. His performance is very sublime and an example of perfection. There is a passive-agressiveness in this performer’s approach that shows that this kung fu master had a very disciplined mind. Research into this actor’s training history reveals that Leung was taught by Yezhun, the son of Ip Man, and what this actor learned carried through into his performance.
But the story is not just about Ip Man. Gong Ruomei (Ziyi Zhang) is just as equally important to the narrative. She is like a crouching tiger waiting to pounce, and her importance only nicely paints a different picture of what some trained warriors refuses to become — a person fixated on a path of vengeance. In China, all the different styles of martial arts promoted various ideals. Some styles were developed to improve overall health and others promoted a higher sense of being. This movie nicely demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of what each style entails and the animal it is supposed to represent. Yes, Kung Fu Panda is a perfect anthropomorphization of the styles practiced today.
Certain disciplines faded to obscurity and others gained world-wide recognition. That layer never gets forgotten as this movie’s narrative shifts in a bold compare and contrast fashion in what the two protagonists cosmically represented in this film.
Interestingly enough, despite Man and Ruomei’s somewhat initial dispassionate reproach upon life, the feelings they share for each other is like a flower waiting to blossom. Had their first encounter had not been about proving which combat style is effective while finding a champion to represent Southern China, maybe their clandestine affair can get openly explored. But their unrequited feelings for each other, communicated by a series of letters, help tie these two character’s parallel lives together. Without it, some viewers may get confused about which character is more important.
True to the principle of Yin and Yang, these two complement each other in more ways than one. The tale about how Ip Man left his wife and children behind when he fled to Hong Kong is sadly marginalized. Some viewers may want to know more about how he learned to cope by being cut off to those he loved. In real life, he had two sons and two daughters. The film nicely summarizes most of his adult life and the North American edit of this film is skipping a few details along the way. During the Japanese occupation, the military generals requested that Ip Man train their troops but he refused. As a result, his entire family fell to hard times, and his two daughters died.
No biopic is ever perfect. With some parts of this film’s narrative missing and other aspects fictionalized, like Ip’s “affair” with Gong, this movie skips like a broken record to present two stories. Fortunately, the film repairs itself as it looks at the last few rhythms of both protagonist’s life.
Gong Ruomei’s tale is not real and is loosely based on a different story. Viewers would not realize this detail unless they know Chinese history. In real life, she was Lady Shi Jianqiao and she sought to avenge her father from a murdering warlord. This individual, Sun Chuanfang, was just as bad as a Nazi war-crime criminal, and his murder was deemed by the high courts as a justifiable act of filial piety. Sadly, Ruomei’s story is not as powerful as her historical counterpart. Her story is more sad, about the loss of her style of Kung-Fu to the annals of time, than her avenging the loss of her father.
Although the fights are visually gorgeous to behold, with its slow motion and ballet-style dynamics, the difference between watching a good fight to a bad one is with the digital juxtaposition going on. The backdrop of an old steam train only gaining speed while two fighters duke it out does not gain power until the vehicle is gone. The danger of falling onto the tracks or being smashed by the train did not feel real, and it could have been done better if CGI did not become a staple for many a film these days.
Despite a few flaws, The Grandmasters succeeds by elegantly remaining philosophical and didactic from beginning to end. It operates in the same levels as Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York with its themes of political divide and opposite forces coming to blows. Just as Ip Man explains why there is a horizontal and vertical, he does not reveal if they ever intersect to form the crossroads. The gangs from one film become the schools of thought in another. Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai shows that from oppression can emerge an awakening of ideals that will truly transcend time.
The North American theatrical release is respectable to bring Ip Man to North America. Now all the studio has to do is to bring a Director’s Cut when this movie is being readied for home video distribution. The missing 22 minutes really needs to be re-instated to make this film truly appreciable.