Movies

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Martial arts epic kicks off Berlin Film Festival

By: Frank Jordans

Posted: 02/8/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

GERO BRELOER / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Director Wong Kar-wai discusses his film The Grandmaster during a news conference in Berlin. (CP)

BERLIN -- Martial arts epic The Grandmaster kicked off the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, introducing an international audience to Yip Man, the man who mentored Bruce Lee and brought kung fu to the masses.

The movie by Wong Kar-wai is running out of competition because the director also heads this year's jury.

Shanghai-born Wong and his fellow jurors -- among them American actor-director Tim Robbins -- will have to choose from 19 movies competing for prizes at the 63rd Berlinale.

These include the Steven Soderbergh thriller Side Effects with Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Gus Van Sant's film Promised Land about the shale gas industry starring Matt Damon.

Juliette Binoche portrays a troubled French sculptor in Camille Claudel 1915, while Gold tells a tale of German immigrants seeking their luck in late 19th-century North America.

Competing also are romantic thriller The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman with Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood, and Closed Curtain by Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi, who was barred from leaving Iran to attend the festival.

The winner of one award has already been announced. French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann will be honoured for his life's work. Lanzmann's nine-and-a-half hour documentary Shoah about the horrors of the genocide of European Jews was screened at the festival in 1986.

In total more than 400 films will be shown at the Feb. 7-17 event known for its focus on social and political works.

Jury president Wong said ahead of the festival that Berlin was about the "experience of a true pleasure of sharing ideas" in the cinema.

Speaking Thursday about his own work, Wong told reporters that the biggest challenge while making The Grandmaster was the fact that he doesn't practise martial arts himself.

Wong said he was nevertheless drawn to the figure of Yip Man, Bruce Lee's mentor, because of his fortitude in the face of a lifetime of hardship, beginning with his childhood in Imperial China through the revolutionary years and ending in Hong Kong under British colonial rule.

"His life basically is like the modern history of the early days of our republic," said Wong. "During all these periods you can see how a martial artist stands up for his principles and his honour in front of all this hardship"

The international cut of The Grandmaster premièring in Berlin has been shortened from the version released in China last year. The film stars Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love) and Zhang Ziyi, best known internationally for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 8, 2013 D5

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Movies

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.