Review of The Grandmaster (2013) by Shannon T — 21 Apr 2014
The 'I'm Not There' of kung fu movies. It's artful, esoteric and for audiences who already know a thing or two about martial arts. The film is filled with love for this incredible art form.
Kar-wai focuses more on style, than actualy fight scenes. That said, there are one or two impressive dance-like fights that are beautiful to watch in an acrobatic sort of way. Typical of Kar-wai, it's also a tragic love story and a sense of looking back at a time that has passed on.
It's stunning in its visual poetry but not as strong on emotional connections that we have gotten from some of Kar-wai's other films. It's missing the ability to transcend the love for martial arts.
Most modern audiences won't connect with it. Similar to the Haynes biopic of Bob Dylan, if you're not already familiar with the subject, you might be left out in the cold. Still, that said, I really appreciate how much affection the movie has for its graceful display of this most beautiful art form.
It's also highly cinematic which will probably grow better with each viewing. The actors are lovely to watch, too bad we don't connect with the characters as much as we'd like to.
This review of The Grandmaster (2013) was written by Shannon T on 21 Apr 2014.
The Grandmaster has generally received positive reviews.
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