Let’s talk about casting first, which is essentially about choosing faces. The male protagonist has two labels: people from the Republic of China and martial artists. Among the powerful male stars with box office appeal in Hong Kong and Taiwan, except for the distant elder brother, who has the flavor of the Republic of China, but more of them are weak and bookish. Andy Lau's face is too straight, and his acting skills are tough. He is suitable for heroes, rebels, and undercover agents, but he lacks the grand master's bearing. Liang Jiahui is warm enough, but unfortunately he looks too foreign, especially his eyes, nose, and everything looks like a mixed race. Chow Yun-fat is only suitable for Li Mubai, who is just like a fantastic martial arts. There is only Liang Chaowei, and it is not necessary to say how much he looks like, but it is fortunate that he is restrained and unassuming.
The biggest feature of Wong Kar-wai's films is that the actors' acting skills are not so much brought into play, but rather that the constant shooting makes the actors forget themselves and are brought into another non-existent space by the surrounding set, environment, architecture, mood and atmosphere. When you accept this space, the sense of presence here (not reality, but an illusion of reality) will directly involve you in it like a black hole, and you will no longer be able to keep a cold-eyed attitude. This is Wong Kar-wai's trump card. Through the framing, gorgeous trance of colors, special shooting angles (especially the use of idle scenes), as well as the length and movement of the lens (slow passage and strong sense of unease), it creates a unique virtual space . In this space, characters and stories are all pushed back, and another form of life, time, can flood the sky like a doomsday flood until it is submerged.
The heroine is also from the Republic of China. Judging from many old photos of the Republic of China, the biggest feature of the women of the Republic of China is that their faces are round and graceful. This one is about PASS most mainland and Hong Kong female artists, they should be docile in temperament, Taiwanese girls are too modern, and Japanese girls are easy to turn from pity to tyranny. South Korea's Song Hye Kyo is barely suitable, but in the film, Wong Kar Wai also took care of her chin, and the whole body is more plump. The other face was Zhang Ziyi. This role is completely for the needs of the plot, bringing Ye Wen into another martial arts world, and it is also the only scattered center point in the second half. Her requirements are stubborn, ignorant, unruly, and destructive. Zhang Ziyi's beautiful face and past character impressions are exactly in line. Why is it a pretty face? Pretty needless to say, but when I see her face, especially her eyes, I always feel a little absent from the scene. It seems that the owner of this face is wandering in another world, only waiting for her to have expressions, eyebrows, eyes, mouth corners Subtle changes began, and then it suddenly became vivid (it's too ugly to say resurrection). Also because of this kind of absence, once you want to be stubborn, angry, and ignorant, you don't have much contrived feeling, but more of your true colors. Li An is like that in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Mr. Zhang Yimou chose to look for a blind girl and a swordsman, which was a tragedy.
In addition, looking for Zhao Benshan, who has sung for decades, to play the old killer Ding Lianshan who is hiding in the underground world, and Xiao Shenyang, who is begging for bailai, to play the horse-tailed armor, it is really wonderful. According to Acheng, the two Northeasterners were born out of shamanism in Mongolia, and have a magical nature, and Zhao Benshan had a sense of humor and humor when he appeared on the stage, accompanied by deliberately profound literary lines, gray hair, and a large iron pot like purgatory lava, inexplicable. There is a ghost in the ground. The rest of the characters are mostly unknown, but their aura and face shape are very suitable. What is particularly impressive is the scene where the boss of Jinlou was shot by the Japanese army. In the dark light and shadow of the restaurant, he was so full of energy, with a face that stood upright, like a jujube. Lord, with such a comprehensive face, it is really hard to say that he is not a hero. Seeing this place is really bloody, and was about to shout to kill the thief, when a gunshot rang out, and an era came to an abrupt end.
Let's look at the plot again. The scene of the opening fight is a rainy night. At least the advantages are: the flow of people is surging during the day, which is not conducive to ambush; The so-called "night is dark and wind is high, when people kill people and set fires", it is technical work. The sound of rain can mask other unnatural sounds, and rain can wash away traces. The final shot is also more aesthetically pleasing, and the contrast between movement (dodge, punch) and static (observation, waiting) is sharper and stronger, especially the sense of time can be brought into full play. While fully enjoying the sensory stimulation, the audience suddenly realized that Ye Wen can overturn the No. 100 horse boy by himself. The difference is that he is always a little faster than his opponent, his fists and feet are a little heavier, and his movements are a little more complicated - Kung Fu is so Earthquan punches to the flesh, not the supernatural inner strength of "one palm shoots the tree and destroys the house" in the new martial arts novels. Several objects are also worth pondering, the top hat, the big iron gate, and all kinds of guys in the green gang. A hat is a person’s outfit and decency, and behind it are the etiquette and rules of daily life; once the big iron gate is closed, a closed world is isolated, which shows that people value personal space; the guy in hand is about purchasing channels , access location, scope of use and other social network.
If Ye Yu’s fight is a master versus a passerby, then the Jinlou competition is a competition of experts. There are no such places anymore, there are no tavern owners like that, and there are no drinkers of all kinds. Everyone is a non-permanent person, you and I are the same, there is no such thing as gentleness at all. But it is not in the Golden Tower. Even if they are warriors, there are differences in height, low, fat and thin, men, women and children, and this difference is closely related to the number of warriors. The few people who have played with Ye Wen have their own style of play. The back fist looks like it is straight back. With a wave and turn of the hand, the body seems to be stretched suddenly. A monkey is a monkey, and a snake is a snake. When the monkey fist is used, the action is erratic, and when the snake fist is used, the body is stable, but the hands are full of ruthless moves, specializing in the key points. The offense and defense switching between the two rows of bookshelves is a perfect interpretation of the decisive square inch. Fighting like this is already a high level, at least the basic principles of moves, movement, and strength are understood. But Wang Jiawei didn't, he just added martial virtue and realm to martial arts through two scenes of Ip Man and the second lady of the palace and the palace. Needless to say about martial arts, the old man's eyes are on the national martial arts conference, not the victory or defeat here. The realm is embodied in the way Ye Gong and the two will win: whoever destroys will lose. The previous "Huo Yuanjia" and "Ip Man" maximized the power of destruction, but here is the way of life. At this moment, I was finally convinced that this was a real kung fu movie.
After the story, many people expressed disappointment and thought it was anticlimactic, but I began to admire Wong Kar-wai. From Mong Kok Carmen, to Chongqing Forest, to East Evil and West Poison, and then to 2046, Wong Kar-wai has brought time and space to a height that is unattainable for others, but the protagonists of Wong's time and space, whether it is one or a pair, A group, or a class, is essentially about the resistance of the individual and the minority to the whole and the majority. It's like watching the fighting and killing of animals in an exhibition hall. What escapes in his films is emotion, not emotion. Emotions refer to Wang's films, which are always overflowing and sticky, digging into the heart and lungs, but can't see the blood vessels in them. What is moved or stimulated is only our increasingly numb body instinct. It's not emotions, it means that there is always something above emotions, maybe the stars, maybe morals, so that we don't lose our reverence for life. The blandness of the story after that was another breakthrough in time for Wong Kar-wai's films. In any case, life always has its ups and downs, life and death, surprises and regrets, not to mention that this movie is about a generation of masters, a generation of people, and an era. It's not kung fu, it's not life, and it's not the Republic of China that can't go back and gradually fade away until it is submerged.
On the other side of the screen, Hu Jinquan and Kurosawa Akira sat in their respective corners, chatting casually, a tall figure in a suit tapped a few times, took off his sunglasses, pushed in the door, and bowed: "Junior "Wong Kar Wai."
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