Grand Master (film)

The film tells the story of Yip Man: from the 1930s, when he lived in Foshan , until the end of his life. As in all films about the life of Yip Man, most of the events are fiction.

The old master, retiring, wants to put another master on his post. He chooses Ip Man to this place and arranges for him a test with a cake. The daughter of the old master, Gong Er, calls Yip Man to fight. She wins by sheer luck or because he succumbed to her. After the battle, Ip Man escorts her.

War is coming, the Japanese are occupying southern China . Gong Yutian's beloved student, Ma San, breaks all the rules by wanting to become the heir to the old teacher. A skirmish occurs and the teacher throws him out of the house, but during the battle receives a fatal injury.

Gun Er meets the Kuomintang agent on the train with the party nickname Blade and saves him from death. The action continues in Hong Kong .

• Tony Leung - Yip Man
• Zhang Ziyi - Gong Er
• Chan Chen - Blade
• Zhang Jin - Ma San
• Elvis Tsui - Mr. Hung
• Wang Qingxiang - Master Gong Yutian

The world premiere of the film took place on January 6, 2013 in Beijing ^[2] . On February 7, 2013, the film was opened by the Berlin Film Festival , whose jury was headed by Wong Karwai this year ^[3] . According to the director, a version adapted for Europeans and Americans was demonstrated in Berlin ^[3] .

Maggie Lee from Variety magazine wrote that Wong Karwai “exceeded all expectations” ^[4] . Clarence Tsui from The Hollywood Reporter magazine noted that the film is full of “melancholy and almost existential submission to a changing fate” ^[2] . According to Nick James from Sight & Sound magazine, Carvai has proven that it is possible to make a sentimental film about kung fu ^[5] . Andrew Palver of The Guardian saw that in The Great Master, discipline in the genre helped Karway break the deadlock he had reached in his latest films ^[6] .

According to Valery Kichin , the film depresses seriousness, and the characters in it are replaced by animated statues ^[3] . Anton Dolin called the film a breathtakingly beautiful film about love and time ^[7] . Andrei Plakhov , referring to the success of the “Great Master” in China, considered that thanks to this film, Karwai “managed to get out of the arthouse ghetto into the sphere of folk cinema” ^[8] . Anna Sotnikova from the Afisha magazine rated The Great Master as Karvai’s best film ^[9] .

• 2013 - two prizes of the Asia-Pacific Film Festival : best actress (Zhang Ziyi), best camera work (Philippe Le Surd).
• 2013 - 6 Golden Horse Prizes: best actress (Zhang Ziyi), camera work (Philippe Le Surd), artist's work (William Chan, Alfred Yau), costumes and makeup (William Chan), visual effects (Pierre Baffin), viewing reward.
• 2013 - two Golden Rooster awards : Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Wang Qingxiang), Best Work of an Artist (William Chan, Alfred Yau).
• 2013 - getting into the top five best foreign films according to the National Council of Film Critics of the United States .
• 2014 - two nominations for the Oscar : Best Cinematography (Philippe Le Surd), Best Costumes (William Chan).
• 2014 - 7 Asian Film Awards : best film, director (Wong Karwai), actress (Zhang Ziyi), camera work (Philippe Le Surd), artist's work (William Chan, Alfred Yau), composer (Shigeru Umebayashi), costumes (William Chan).
• 2014 - 11 Hong Kong Film Awards : Best Film, Director (Wong Karwai), Screenplay (Wong Karwai, Zou Jingzhi, Xu Haofeng), Actress (Zhang Ziyi), Supporting Actor (Zhang Jin), Cinematography (Philippe Le Surd ), the work of the artist (William Chan, Alfred Yau), editing (William Chan, Benjamin Kurtinez, Hong Poon), costumes and makeup (William Chan), choreography (Yuan Heping), sound (Robert Mackenzie, Traitep Wonpaybon).
• 2014 - Award nominated for by the American Society of Cinematographers for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film (Philippe Le Surd).

• Official movie website
• The Great Master on the Internet Movie Database
• Grand Master (English) on allmovie  
• Grand Master at Box Office Mojo