• 一代宗师 (The Grandmaster)

5/31/26 (Sun)

Wong Kar-wai’s 2013 tribute to Ip Man (葉問), the legendary grandmaster and propagator of the Wing Chun (詠春) style of kung fu, which he brought from mainland China to Hong Kong. His most famous student was Bruce Lee, securing his legacy for future generations. His eventful life is fascinating and has been the subject of numerous films, this being the most high-minded. The story is rather disjointed, but I found out later that I was watching the severely cut US version (108 min vs. original’s 130 min – not to mention a separate European cut at 123 min). Even in the shortened version, it’s clear that Wong was aiming for a more intellectual approach to a kung fu film, perhaps analogous to the concept-minded Wing Chun style itself.

Northern master Gong Yutian wants to unify north and south schools, mirroring divisions in Chinese society at large. He has retired and appointed an heir, and has now come south to Foshan to find southern heir. His daughter objects, saying southerners are unworthy, but he discovers Ip Man and, after a battle as much philosophical as physical, designates him as his heir. When the master leaves for the north, the daughter challenges Ip for the family’s honor. She prevails when Ip goes against the rules and breaks a post (while trying to save her). They part on friendly terms and pledge to meet again. Unfortunately war intervenes when the Japanese invade Foshan, and Ip falls into dire poverty, losing two of his daughters to starvation. Up north, Gong Yutian is betrayed and killed by his heir.

Years pass. Ip moves to Hong Kong in 1950, where he must start anew. China closes its border the following year, separating him from his family forever. He runs into Gong’s daughter, who reveals that she took revenge on her father’s heir in a decisive battle using her father’s secret techniques. What appears to be a blossoming love affair is cut short by her death; the fight had left her seriously injured and dependent on opium to deal with the pain. Ip goes on to popularize Wing Chun, which becomes a worldwide phenomenon.

Tony Leung as Ip is a riveting presence but is impassive throughout, making it hard to get to know him. The film wanted to show him as more than just a fighter by emphasizing his philosophical side, but it led to some bromidic lines (“Break from what you know, and you will know more” “If you don’t see something, does it not exist?” “No art is higher than heaven; no gift solid as earth” “No arrow may return to its bow”) that sounded very Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The strong but silent type is fine, but I would have preferred if they had grounded that in a more solid story. We are told, for instance, that his children starved to death, but it was hard to feel anything absent at least some reaction from him.

Things turn around notably halfway through when the film shifts to the more interesting story of Gong Yutian’s daughter, played, fabulously, by Zhang Ziyi. Her story of pride, humiliation and revenge resonates more, helped not only by Zhang’s intense performance but by a story that is played out before us rather than simply narrated. She does admit to Ip that she loves him, and I wish that the filmmakers had pursued that story. The filmmakers apparently intended initially to call this The Grandmasters, which would have made sense given the story of Gong and his daughter. (The Chinese title could go either way.) Given her dominance in all of her scenes, I felt like they could have centered the film entirely on her. A great performance in a great role.

The direction and cinematography of the fight scenes were spectacular (Leung reportedly broke his arm twice during the prolonged filming), though tending more toward the artsy than the visceral, such as the close-ups of the water splashing slow motion in the streets. I just wish they hadn’t relied on MTV-style editing. Still, the fights were dynamic and inventive. They were reason alone to see the film.

The history, the fight sequences, and Zhang Ziyi were well worth watching. While the muddled story, at least in the US version, makes this tough to recommend, I’m definitely on the lookout for the full version.