Posts
Cinematography - Philippe Le Sourd
Costume Design - William Chang Suk Ping
The Grandmaster is about the life of Ip Man, the grandmaster of Kung Fu who became legendary for having been the martial arts teacher of movie legend, Bruce Lee. He begins as a young apprentice of the Gong Family school, and we follow his journey, along with the journey of Gong's talented daughter. There are many rivals and betrayals, and all of this leads to many fights, including avenging Gong's death, one student capitulating with the Japanese during the war, and the various roles that disciples of the original school followed, some honorable, some not.
But the story is almost irrelevant in the film, because of how beautiful the Cinematography is. From the opening scene, you can tell that this is no ordinary Kung Fu movie, and each shot is a feast for the eyes. When you add in the amazing costumes which not only reflect China's history over time (read: period pieces!) but also support the narrative of the film in innovative ways, it's easy to see how the movie got the Academy's attention. These two elements combine to take a genre that normally has no appeal for me and transform it into a piece of art from which I couldn't look away. I'm not sure that seeing the film is imperative for those who aren't lovers of the martial arts genre, but those who do see it will inevitably spot how special it is compared to its counterparts.
Haven't seen the film?
Watch The Grandmaster Movie Trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment