Revisiting “The Grandmaster”: A Decade Later
Editor’s Note: Welcome to a nostalgic cinematic journey.
Movies, as an art form, often reveal new layers of meaning when revisited years later.
Take “The Grandmaster,” for example. A decade ago, its initial release might have left many viewers puzzled.
Today, a rewatch might spark a different reaction, a realization that it’s actually a worthwhile film.The original 2013 release even had a rushed poster.
The Wong Kar-wai Factor
When discussing the film’s artistic merit, it’s impossible to ignore director Wong Kar-wai’s unique auteur style and his unconventional approach to filmmaking. He’s like a top chef whose dishes are inimitable because of his meticulous sourcing and handling of ingredients, setting him apart from ordinary cooks from the very beginning.
The varied reception to Wong Kar-wai’s films stems from his own enigmatic persona.
Without overly mythologizing his artistic achievements, it’s fair to say that Wong Kar-wai’s rise to prominence is rooted in his rapid ascent from a regular screenwriter and director in the Hong Kong film industry to a darling of film financiers. This ascent was fueled by the trust that top stars placed in his directorial abilities, willing to spend significantly more time than usual working with him on his exploratory productions. In the film industry, “stars” represent reliable box office returns and commercial value, which enticed investors, both knowledgeable and not, to pour money into Wong Kar-wai’s time-consuming and labor-intensive projects. Even when the commercial results weren’t always stellar, the distinctiveness of his films continued to perpetuate the mystique of the “Wong Kar-wai” brand.
For a film director, the pursuit of artistic perfection and cinematic dreams can be endless. Just as James Cameron might spend decades perfecting a film’s special effects, Wong Kar-wai can dedicate years to refining a film’s production. There’s no limit to a film’s budget; a hundred dollars is never too little, and a hundred billion is never too much. As long as investors are willing to spend, the director can ensure that every penny is spent wisely. And for those who truly understand filmmaking, that money can be transformed into tangible on-screen results that audiences can see, dispelling the rumors of “money laundering through filmmaking” that plague many bad movies.
Wong Kar-wai’s genius lies in his ability to secure and spend vast sums of money to support his unique filmmaking process. The resulting films are uniquely his, difficult for others to replicate.
The cinematography and art direction are exquisitely refined. The beauty of many scenes transcends the screen.
Demystifying the Legend
Once you understand the essence of his “magic,” many of the legendary anecdotes simply become part of Wong’s distinctive production style.
For example, it’s often said that he doesn’t use a script during filming, shooting whatever comes to mind. Often, the script consists of a few pages written the night before, and neither the actors nor the director necessarily know what they’re filming or where it will fit into the final film, or even if it will make the cut.
These stories are true, but there’s no need to overemphasize the mystique. It’s like a top chef using rare ingredients to make soup; once the soup is made, the ingredients are discarded. The soup is the main flavor, not the raw materials. In filmmaking, far more footage ends up on the cutting room floor than what viewers see on screen. Wong Kar-wai simply appears more carefree, constantly shooting and experimenting, all in pursuit of the best artistic results. This extravagant process is underpinned by the availability of ample production funds to burn through.The opening rain scene alone likely took over a dozen days to film. Not only the actors’ performances, but even the way the raindrops fell were subject to meticulous refinement.
Whether Wong will continue to have opportunities for such lavish productions in the future remains to be seen. But “The Grandmaster” represents a unique and extravagant experiment from the heyday of the Chinese mainland film market. The pressure from investors, however, meant that the film, despite repeated delays, had to be rushed to theaters for the 2013 Chinese New Year – specifically, January 8, 2013. In terms of quality, the film that premiered at that time was only about 70% complete. It was only with the completion of the “American version” that the film’s details and artistic quality reached a satisfactory level. Subsequently, on January 8, 2015, a “3D version” of “The Grandmaster,” largely similar to the “American version,” was released in domestic theaters, finally bringing the film to its full potential.
In the film industry, promotional campaigns rarely reveal the whole truth. For audiences, Wong Kar-wai’s films are inherently ambiguous, seemingly understandable but not quite. So, the difference between 70% completion and 100% completion may not be that significant. In the end, it all amounts to the same thing.
These anecdotes and processes genuinely affect the film’s artistic quality. “The Grandmaster” is certainly not Wong’s best film, but it retains many of his artistic traits, thanks to the significant investment. Unfortunately, like Wong’s films over the past 20 years, it suffers from a sense of anticlimax, revealing problems with overly complex ideas and a weak resolution, like throwing out multiple golden and silver threads that become a tangled mess.
Of course, even if Wong Kar-wai’s films are chaotic, the production costs are real. He remains an artistic director, the actors are talented stars, and the crew is top-notch. These objective factors ensure the film’s basic quality, giving it a higher artistic value than most films on the market.The 2015 re-release in 3D, with ample time for preparation, even had a more elaborate poster design.
What is “The Grandmaster” Really About?
After all this rambling, we can finally discuss what “The Grandmaster” is actually about.
A decade ago, with the resurgence of the “Ip Man” series and martial arts films in the market, Wong Kar-wai joined the trend with this film, loosely based on the story of “Wing Chun Ip Man.” However, the finished product is fundamentally the story that Wong wanted to tell. This “new wine in old bottles” approach is similar to his work on “Ashes of Time” (1994) nearly 30 years earlier. Back then, amidst the popularity of martial arts films in Hong Kong, Wong assembled stars like Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, and Tony Leung, leading people to believe he was making a pure Jin Yong-style martial arts film. The result, however, was an even more incomprehensible art film than his previous works. In this sense, “The Grandmaster” seems more accessible than “Ashes of Time,” giving viewers the impression that they can understand it. But at its core, it remains difficult to grasp.
Conceptionally, “Master Ip Man,” as a real-life figure, is famous for teaching the martial arts superstar “Bruce Lee.” However, his life is hardly legendary, more of a simple “martial arts master” living a humble life. The “Ip Man” films, through creative embellishments, portray the protagonist as constantly fighting against the Japanese and Americans, uniting the Chinese people on the martial arts stage to defend against foreign enemies, showcasing national pride. But ultimately, beyond “I want to fight ten,” there are no remarkable achievements, only that he is “relatively good at fighting.”
In this light, “Ip Man’s story” is clearly not special enough. For Wong Kar-wai, who consistently seeks “uniqueness” in his art, a simple biography of “Ip Man” would be too thin. Therefore, he combined “Ip Man and other martial arts masters’” pursuit of martial arts with the turbulent backdrop of early 20th-century Chinese society, attempting to find a foothold for “traditional Chinese martial arts” in the modern world.The real story of Ip Man can be summed up in this photo, far from legendary.
If “The Grandmaster” is viewed as a martial arts ensemble like “Ashes of Time,” it can be seen as “the last martial arts masters” seeking their place in the world. “Ip Man” is merely the commercial protagonist, while Grandmaster Gong Baosen, hoping to “promote Chinese martial arts,” has his grand ideals but ultimately dies frustrated due to the changing times. His daughter, Miss Gong Er, as a “swordswoman” who dedicates her life to martial arts to avenge her father, chooses a difficult path of “martial arts pursuit.” Amidst the great waves of the era, we also see the martial arts outcast “Ma San,” who collaborates with the Japanese, and the secret agent “一线天” (一线天), who uses his killing skills to serve the Kuomintang’s assassination missions. These martial arts experts with various abilities choose different paths and affiliations. Apart from Ip Man, the other characters can be understood as representing typical roles in different social directions, and their martial arts archetypes can be vaguely found in history.
This high-level film concept is clearly more profound than typical commercial martial arts films, making it suitable for telling stories to investors and actors. Unfortunately, the finished product tries to say too much but explains too little. The story lacks a unified thread, failing to organically integrate all the elements. As a result, the film is scattered into biographical notes about “Ip Man,” a biography of “Gong Er,” and the legend that actor Chang Chen practiced diligently to become the national champion of Bajiquan for his role as “一线天,” only to have a few scenes left in “The Grandmaster,” without even a chance to act opposite the main cast.Actor Chang Chen had few scenes left in “The Grandmaster,” but earned a reputation for dedication. Wong Kar-wai is skilled at using big-name actors, and working with him always yields unique rewards.
These are actually flaws in the director’s and screenwriter’s work, stemming from an overly ambitious theme that ultimately lacks support. The effect is a film with abrupt and disjointed scenes, lacking connection, and a series of isolated “plays.” The more complete “American version” attempts to solve this problem by adjusting the editing order and rewriting some lines, making it clearer than the 70% complete initial version. In fact, it removes over ten minutes of misplaced scenes compared to the initial version, making the theme more concise. However, the old problem of “Ip Man” in the first half and “Gong Er” in the second half remains unresolved.
Strengths and Weaknesses
A major contradiction in Wong Kar-wai’s art is that even if the film is generally scattered, “each scene” is still genuinely good. The exquisite and distinct cinematography, the luxurious art direction and set design, the chewy and meaningful lines, and the innovative fight choreography all create a sense of novelty.
For example, lines like “念念不忘，必有回响” (what’s kept in mind, will not be forgotten) and the unique “饼饼” (breaking the cake) martial arts competition are full of originality. Notably, Zhao Benshan, in his few cameo-like scenes, also leaves behind a special character design and traits. The line “有多大屁股就穿多大裤衩” (wear underwear that fits your butt) perfectly captures the down-to-earth feel of a Northeastern martial arts master, while preserving Zhao Benshan’s personal charm. His cigarette-lighting contest with Tony Leung is reminiscent of the cigarette duel between Shangguan Jin Hong and Tianji Old Man in Gu Long’s “Little Li Flying Dagger,” giving the audience a sense of the energy between two martial arts masters secretly competing, even if they don’t fully understand it. These seemingly effortless treatments demonstrate director Wong Kar-wai’s extraordinary artistic skill, often more relaxed than those scenes that are painstakingly filmed, such as the overly flashy “fight in the rain” at the beginning.What is this scene really about? It seems difficult to explain in a few words. In short, two martial arts masters, one offensive and one defensive, don’t need to actually fight; just by looking at their stances, you know they are not ordinary people. This is a true martial arts contest that stops at the right moment.
With its action choreography, the martial arts masters’ concise lines, and the visual beauty created by art direction and cinematography, “The Grandmaster” is a top-notch film, worth watching again and again.
However, the story remains a pity. The overall disarray of the theme, translated into specific plot details, becomes a film where the characters’ “martial arts fights” are relatively intense, at least clarifying what kind of reputation and dignity each side is betting on before the fight. But the “literary scenes” outside of the fights are difficult to describe. Whether it’s Grandmaster Gong Baosen’s hope for Ip Man to inherit martial arts or Gong Er’s vague affection for Ip Man, it all seems one-sided, belonging to the characters’ soliloquies, with insufficient plot development and story rationality.
This has been Wong Kar-wai’s old problem for nearly 30 years. Since “Days of Being Wild,” Wong’s ensemble of protagonists has suffered from the common ailment of literary youth, often excessively soliloquizing, trapped in the unrequited feelings of “love and not love,” ultimately writing a series of self-admiring diaries of unrequited love. For love vignettes like “In the Mood for Love” or “Happy Together,” the protagonists’ behavior fits the overall tone of the film. However, for a grand concept like “The Grandmaster,” the film ultimately relies on the regret of “love that cannot be” between the male and female leads to end, which is clearly petty. This undermines the film’s previous painstaking character development, making it overly literary and lacking in strength.
Gong Er’s story and Ip Man’s story, if viewed as the different life experiences of two martial arts masters, can be understood as one being the old path of revenge for Jianghu people, and the other being the new path of great seclusion in the city, reflecting each other. This is the true era intention that “The Grandmaster” wants to express. However, the film ultimately ends with a “In the Mood for Love” ticket sentiment, which is a bit of a pity.
Like many of Wong Kar-wai’s later works, “The Grandmaster” has very obvious strengths and weaknesses. However, his films seem so profound that the average viewer doesn’t dare to point out a specific flaw and say “this is a clear failure,” making it increasingly difficult to evaluate, and further mythologizing Wong’s artistic achievements.
In fact, “The Grandmaster” may not be that complicated, just as “Avatar” may not be that simple. Both are works that have taken a lot of time, effort, and money. With more investment, the effect is naturally different, difficult for others to imitate, but that doesn’t make them perfect works of art. Looking back now, they are still interesting, because the global film and television production industry ten years later can hardly support these huge, personalized works. The best golden age of film art, starting in the 1990s, has quietly faded away from us.