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Description Of "Grandmasters" Footage at Cannes

 
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Jamaica



Joined: 27 Mar 2011
Posts: 419
Location: Lexington, KY United States

PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 9:43 am    Post subject: Description Of "Grandmasters" Footage at Cannes

http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2012/05/28/cannes-2012-press-preview-report-the-grandmasters-only-god-forgives-and-spring-breakers/

The Grandmasters was the footage that I was most looking forward to at the press presentation and it thankfully it did not disappoint. The only disappointment was the fact that I was sitting down to watch five minutes of footage rather than the complete film, a film that has been so long delayed that this is the second Cannes to have rumours circling prior to the festival about it having its première here. I’m usually very quick to complain about watching footage or trailer presentations, I like films not tiny slivers of films, but with Wong Kar-wai reportedly working on re-shoots as I type and the UK rights to the film in the hands of The Weinstein Company I am not optimistic about seeing this film for a very, very long time.
The five minutes of footage presented were utterly gorgeous and appeared to be a wonderful set up for the character played in the film by Zhang Ziyi, presumably Kung Yi. The footage began with a young girl watching her father practising Bagua martial arts in a snowy courtyard from a window. The voiceover, from the girl, informs us that she is forbidden from watching him but she appears to be taking it all in and in a smooth transition we see her trying to practice the same moves in the courtyard.
The scene then transitions into the girl, now grown up (played by Zhang Ziyi) practising alone in the same courtyard. She is now highly skilled and, like her father, is able to effect the environment around her with her movements, icicles on trees shaking with her swift punches and the snow in the air pushed sideways as if by a strong wind.

The sequence is beautifully shot, gorgeous cinematography providing a feast for your eyes but it also communicates a lot of information visually. Through the sequence we learn a lot about the martial art being practised, the relationship between Zhang Ziyi’s character and her father, what potentially happened to him and also Zhang Ziyi’s character’s formative years. One criticism of voiceovers is often that they tell instead of showing but, like many of Wong Kar-wai’s films, the storytelling is all there in the visuals, with the voiceover doing as much to communicate mood as it does information.
Interestingly, the ‘circle walking’ Bagua martial arts shown in the clip sits very well alongside the other footage we have so far seen from the film, a teaser trailer featuring Tony Leung fighting a group of men. In the trailer Leung’s character (Ip Man) appears to be encircled by the men but manages to fight them off, despite their number, fitting in well with the reported benefits of the Bagua style.
Last year I wrote that my most anticipated film of 2012 was The Grandmasters (pointing out that it was also my most anticipated film of 2011) and little has changed. The five minutes I saw were incredibly solid and breathtakingly beautiful and I can’t wait to see the whole thing, whenever that may be.

The official synopsis of The Grandmasters 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…
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yitian



Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 413
Location: United States

PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 2:35 pm    Post subject:

Beautiful description. Thanks Jamaica for the update. Hope this piece is going to be released on the web soon. Smile
Here is a set of photo released together with this piece (from the website provided by Frances).
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Jamaica



Joined: 27 Mar 2011
Posts: 419
Location: Lexington, KY United States

PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2012 6:26 pm    Post subject:

Judging from the pictures, the scene was as beautifully shot, as they said it was. Thanks Yitian, and Frances, too! Smile
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7thclouds



Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 130
Location: Waseda-cho Shinjuku Tokyo Japan

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:32 pm    Post subject: thanks Jamaica

"The Grandmasters" at the cannne 2012 Very Happy
Thanks for letting me know about this good film review,
Cheers, Jamaica Smile
And, looking forward to watching "The Glandmasters" in Japan soon Very Happy
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