The Grandmaster, Movie Review Example

The movie which will be reviewed in this analysis is the movie titled: The Grandmaster which was written by Kar Wai Wong. The movie made its debut in 2013. The era that the movie is depicted in is the 1930s. This is a martial arts movie which is based on the life of Ip Man who trained the martial arts legend Bruce Lee.  The movie was seen on DVD in the evening.  The theme of the movie is the Wing Chun style of martial arts. The movie demonstrates the concept that there can be more than one grandmaster ( IMDb 1: Wong 1).

In the beginning of the movie, the definition of Kung Fu is given as being representative of two concepts: the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. The Asian characters which are depicted are Chinese.  The stereotypes which are depicted are humility. The perseverance of the pursuit of the Chinese cultural heritage is depicted in this movie.  The story is based on Ip Man’s quest for a peaceful existence which becomes altered after Gong Yulian looks for the inheritor to his family’s legacy (IMDb 1; Wong 1).

The protagonist Ip man encounters Gong Er who fights with him in order to demonstrate and uphold the honor of her family. This movie is set in the period subsequent to the Second Japanese – Chinese war. Gong Er seeks retribution after the murder of her family member.  The stereotype of Asians who smoke cigarettes and consume opium is demonstrated.  The theme of the movie is unconsumed love and romances which have not triumphed.  The cultural stereotype which is perceived from the film is that there is a pro-communist inference, which would be inherent for a movie which depicts China in the 1930s (IMDb 1; Wong 1).

The movie was portrayed in a specific aspect of accuracy (IMDb 1; Wong 1). In the 1930s, opium consumption had been rampant in China. This was attributed to the influence which had been introduced by the British in order to gain access to the Chinese economy during the First and the Second Opium wars of the nineteenth century (Cherry 41). As a result, there came to be three recognized evils which were associated with Chinese people. These evils were categorized as opium addiction, prostitution and gambling. The movie portrays the influence of these three evils (Cherry 41)

The movie is intended to provide an accurate background of life in Hong Kong during the 1930s. Hong Kong in the 1930s had been under British rule. The most profitable manner for the British to subjugate the Chinese in that era had been the introduction of opium to the Chinese people (Cherry 41). Consequently, as a remedy to this social ill, the pro- communist theme is represented as an alternative.  The movie is based on a martial arts genre which infers that there would be certain distortions in the depiction of the Asians (IMDb 1; Wong 1).

The stereotype of the movie is also founded upon family honor and avenging a tarnished family honor. Could the same theme be applicable with regards to a movie which is based on 2013 or 2014? That would be doubtful as the context of the situations in China has changed significantly. Nonetheless, the portrayal of Asian as gamblers who promote fighting between masters as a means of making profit is a theme of the movie. Notwithstanding the stereotypes which had been portrayed, the movie The Grandmaster had been one of the most lauded movies in China and made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival (IMDb 1; Wong 1).

Works Cited

Cherry, Andrew L. Mary E. Dillon & Douglas Rugh. Substance abuse: a global view. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2002.

IMDb. “The Grandmaster. (yi dai zong shi)” IMDb, 2014.Web. 11 April 2014. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462900/

The Grandmaster. Dir. Kar Wai Wong. Shaw Organization, 2013. Film.