The Grandmaster has beautiful production values and takes a long, languid observation at its subject, but arguably also stands as an example of the failings of some productions that are just too long in their making for their own good.
It's a film that is poeticly stylised in its visual appearance and dialogue (especially that of Ip man and Gong Er). 90% of the scenes are in close-up or extreme close-up, with dark borders and only the subjects' faces illuminated. It is undoubtedly an interesting look, that many will appreciate for its aesthetic beauty, but plenty of others (such as this writer) will find suffocatingly cloying after awhile, as the film progresses with little visual variety occurring.
The story is fascinating, but by now much of it is relatively well-known due to other films on Ip man's life being made, completed and exhibited, during the decade or so this film took to finish. There is nothing really new in the story, so perhaps in an effort to freshen things up, director Wong Kar-wai rather oddly changes tack in the second half. He suddenly switches from the Ip man perspective (and arguably excessive first person narration) we've had so far and then we are delivered two sub stories (one relatively short and one much longer) about supporting characters with their own narration, one of which doesn't even involve Ip man. To me, it felt like unnecessary, distractive padding of the main storyline. The converse of this was that despite the promotion of the film as about the man who trained Bruce Lee, the latter barely features and then only briefly right at the end, as a young high achieving student.
I freely admit, that I may have felt more positive about this film if it had been released at least 5 to 6 years earlier than it was and then focused more on the central character, rather than going walkabout for long periods with other "less important" characters. For that accountability must lie, with the talented but eccentric director Wong Kar-wai.
It's a film that is poeticly stylised in its visual appearance and dialogue (especially that of Ip man and Gong Er). 90% of the scenes are in close-up or extreme close-up, with dark borders and only the subjects' faces illuminated. It is undoubtedly an interesting look, that many will appreciate for its aesthetic beauty, but plenty of others (such as this writer) will find suffocatingly cloying after awhile, as the film progresses with little visual variety occurring.
The story is fascinating, but by now much of it is relatively well-known due to other films on Ip man's life being made, completed and exhibited, during the decade or so this film took to finish. There is nothing really new in the story, so perhaps in an effort to freshen things up, director Wong Kar-wai rather oddly changes tack in the second half. He suddenly switches from the Ip man perspective (and arguably excessive first person narration) we've had so far and then we are delivered two sub stories (one relatively short and one much longer) about supporting characters with their own narration, one of which doesn't even involve Ip man. To me, it felt like unnecessary, distractive padding of the main storyline. The converse of this was that despite the promotion of the film as about the man who trained Bruce Lee, the latter barely features and then only briefly right at the end, as a young high achieving student.
I freely admit, that I may have felt more positive about this film if it had been released at least 5 to 6 years earlier than it was and then focused more on the central character, rather than going walkabout for long periods with other "less important" characters. For that accountability must lie, with the talented but eccentric director Wong Kar-wai.