If you don’t follow the work of Wong Kar-Wai then I simply have no time for you. One of cinema’s greatest living masters returns to the big screen with THE GRANDMASTERS, his first film since 2007’s MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, his first and only misguided stroll into English language territory. Luckily, he also has the astonishing classics, a term I do not use lightly, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000), 2046 (2004), and CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994) under his belt.With a resume like that, his next feature could be based on LAZYTOWN and I’d give it a chance.
The official synopsis is as follows:
With martial arts getting more popular in the Thirties, more people seek to learn them via the professionals at Foshan in Southern China. Some of the experienced masters like to challenge their counterparts and undergoing battles. To have their whole concentration, it is their practice to lock up the venues and no one is allowed to leave during battles. No food and no rest before reaching any results.
Ip Man is a young rich man extremely talented in martial arts, but he chooses to keep a low profile. Yet this doesn’t keep him out of these troubles ahead. One day he is trapped in this battleground so he has to use every means in order to get out of there. The masters are amazed by his abilities. Master Kung and his daughter Kung Yi are amongst, and the latter is attracted to this newcomer.
A high warlord is assassinated by his own guard Yi Xian Tian. All masters in Foshan vow to take Tian down no matter what…
The tale of Ip Man has been told in the recent IP MAN (2008) and IP MAN 2 (2010), which both starred Donnie Yen as the revered master, and both weredarn good. But with Wong Kar-Wai at the helm and Tony Leung as Ip Man, this is set to be breathtaking. Check out the trailer below if you’d like to be knocked off your feet.
THE GRANDMASTERS is released in China on 18th December and Hong Kong on Christmas Day. No word yet on a UK/US release date. It stars Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Chang, Hye-Kyo Song, Cung Le, and Siu-Lung Leung.
Luke likes many things, films and penguins being among them. He's loved films since the age of 9, when STARGATE and BATMAN FOREVER changed the landscape of modern cinema as we know it. His love of film extends to all aspects of his life, with trips abroad being planned around film locations and only buying products featured in Will Smith movies. His favourite films include SEVEN SAMURAI, PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, IN BRUGES, LONE STAR, GODZILLA, and a thousand others.
