Wong Kar-wai Gives a ‘Grandmaster’ Class

By Barbara Chai

Published on August 23, 2013 in Wall Street Journal Blogs

Film director Wong Kar-wai is often dubbed an auteur, with cinephiles pointing to his stylized, step printed slow motion techniques in films such as “Chungking Express” and “In the Mood for Love.” In person though, Wong is a bit goofy. Irreverent. Certainly doesn’t edit himself as much as he edits a scene in a movie.

“What’s that?” he says, pointing at a reporter’s list of questions. Then laughs. “We’re going to be here one hour. Let’s go!” It didn’t take one hour. But we kind of wish it did, because Wong is as wise as he is droll, and has a gift for giving vivid answers that cut to the elegant point.

Wong seems relaxed now, six years after his last feature, “My Blueberry Nights,” opened to mixed reviews — a rare misstep for this director whose career includes “Fallen Angels,” “Happy Together” and “2046.” His new film, “The Grandmaster,” a meditation on the legacy of kung fu master (and Bruce Lee trainer) Ip Man, has so far generated more than $55 million world-wide — Wong’s biggest box-office hit to date.

“The Grandmaster” stars Asian powerhouse actors Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi as Ip Man and Gong Er — two kung fu greats who meet during the turbulent Republican era of China’s history. The film took Wong six years to plan and three more to film.

The director sat with the Journal to discuss “The Grandmaster.”

Questions & Answers (Q & A):

Q: Your film approaches kung fu from a philosophical perspective. Will it challenge U.S. audiences and their idea of kung fu films?

A: I don’t think it’s like a challenge, but I think they will appreciate that. The audience will see I didn’t just want to make another kung fu film. I wanted to be different, to be original, to give the audience more than just a kung fu film. It’s not about just kicks and punches. I wanted to make them appreciate once upon a time in China, the martial-arts world was like this.

Q: In Asia, where the film has done very well, does this present a kung fu film they’re not used to?

A: I think what the Chinese audiences appreciate is the film gives them a journey to revisit some of our heritage. A time that doesn’t exist anymore. When I was doing this film, I realized the traditional Chinese martial arts in China is still not supported by the state. They actually only exist by individuals in private practice. With this film, I’m happy to bring the awareness. It’s really not just about a fighting skill, because there are so many wisdoms and philosophies and spirits which we should treasure.

Q: The meeting between Grandmaster Gong Baosen and Ip Man, representing China’s north and south, seemed like it would be this epic showdown. But it became a battle of the minds.

A: Weinstein Co./Courtesy Everett ‘The Grandmaster’ In those days, martial artists were very formal. The first 30 minutes of the film are like “Rocky.” Apollo Creed comes to town and says, I’m giving a chance to a local fighter. So he will have this honor to do a demonstration with me. So when you look at the scene, it’s like he’s sitting and Ip Man, who’s a rising star, is not sitting. He has to stand in front of him. He has the honor to challenge the grandmaster, and he’s not going to fight. It’s not right at that time. They’re doing this demonstration and actually it’s not only about the skill, but also, the wit.

Q: When Ip Man fights Gong’s daughter, it’s still fluid. Is he letting her win? Is he impressed by her? There’s a story unfolding between them in battle.

A: When we were shooting this scene, I told Ziyi and Tony — When I was doing research on this film, when I attended all these demonstrations, there’s one characteristic about those martial artists that’s very distinctive. They have a certain kind of animal quality in their moves. So it can be an old gentleman or a worker in a train station, and they look normal. But when they’re doing a demonstration, they’re a different person. You can feel the chi is very dangerous. They become something else. So the challenge in a way between these two persons is you have to convey that it’s not only about the physical attraction between a man and a woman. It’s also two panthers. Very beautiful. There’s a danger in it. What makes this fight so memorable for them is they meet their equal. They find each other.

Q: Later, when Ip Man is in Hong Kong and meets a formidable opponent, he says it’s as rare as meeting a friend.

A: You’re very grateful to have someone that is an equal. Especially at the time, when they are in exile. They are two lost souls in a foreign land. The sound of the razor is something to remind them of who they were and who they are. It’s something even for the people in the streets, it’s like this is our glory. This is a reminder of our best time.

Q: When Ip Man punches a man into a wall, why did you zoom in on a nail flying out in slow motion?

A: Is it a fetish? [laughs] I think that’s what makes the difference. How can you deliver the power of a punch? I just don’t want to do it over-the-top, like big explosions and smashing windows. It’s too normal. If you want to show the power, even a nail, when you look closely, gives you a sense of the power.

Q: How did you shoot that scene?

A: We shot it with a phantom camera, so that means you shoot with 500 frames per second or sometimes 1000 frames per second. So when you look at the waterdrops, it’s like, ooooh. [Wong also filmed a kung fu sequence in the rain, with crisp splashes and vivid drops of water.]

Q: The focus on Gong Er and women’s legacy in kung fu is interesting. Why did you choose to highlight that?

A: I think what’s most challenging for the grandmasters is they’re not actually fighting a person. Normally in a film you have to create the bad guys, like in some of these films about Ip Man they have to create Japanese ones or whatever. But for me, these are pseudo-heroes. What makes these people heroes is they’re fighting the time, and the ups and downs in life. Gong Er never lost a battle but she loses one – the battle with the time. She made the choice. She preferred to stay in her time instead of moving on.

Q: Why did you use portrait photographs as a thread throughout the film?

A: When we were doing research of that period, normally you could see only photographs because they didn’t take casual photographs. Taking pictures in those days was a big deal, right? So when you look at all this research material, you can see group shots one after the other. It’s like family group shot, party group shot. So I thought it would be interesting for this film to end each of these chapters with a group shot, with still frames.

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