By JOHN CARTER JR.
Tiger Media Network
Part 1: Demonizing people
Martial arts films, whether they be Hong Kong or Hollywood productions, are a major subgenre of the overall action film genre. Among the great film artisans is legendary Chinese director Wong Kar Wai.
While some of his best-known action sequences might take place in films like “Fallen Angels” or “Ashes of Time,” it is his underappreciated 2013 entry “The Grandmaster” that is the “Chungking Express” director’s most impressive in terms of action sequences. Wong Kar Wai goes back and forth between his portrayal of women. Through the eyes of men or women, the portrayal of the agency of women has its highs and lows. In films like the aforementioned better-known ones, women are treated like they are not only at the whims of men but paint these women as pathetic or unable to overcome their weaknesses.
This vulnerability is their feeling for the men they long for. While other Wong Kar Wai entries treat women with more dignity like in “Chungking Express” or “In the Mood for Love,” even in these films a woman’s narrative is reliant on that of a man’s interest in her. In the case of “Chungking Express,” it paints Faye’s character as a stalking simp until she finally decides to focus on herself, and in the case of “In the Mood for Love,” it is quite the opposite where a dedicated wife, Su Li-zhen, struggles with leaving her cheating husband but concedes to the pressure and remains with him. I often read comments on Wong Kar Wai films by the most pretentious film dude bros (similar to reading the reviews of David Lynch’s mostly abhorrent filmography) hyping up the cinematography, colors, shutter speed, etc., but always find comments about how beautiful the women are. Hardly ever anything about how these women actually are, they always hype up the beauty of the film. However, admiring beauty is one thing, but in the case of the most out-of-touch kiddos, it gets more and more distorted. That being said, it begs the question of how the women in these films would be received if they didn’t fit into their culturally ascribed beauty standard or the global ones either.
If Faye’s Character in “Chungking Express” had been a dark-skinned plus-size woman who didn’t have the desired features the attracted audience wanted, would they have been so willing to write off the frankly creepy behavior as beautiful quirkiness? No, audiences are willing to root for and sexualize monsters in films because they see them as attractive. We see this from media like the Ryan Murphy Netflix “Dahmer” miniseries starring Evan Peters. With audiences taking to social media to justify the molesting monster. It’s disgusting. While on the other hand demonizes people who are in stigmatized populations just for having normal things like desire, we see this in media like the 1998 Bill Condon film “Gods and Monsters” starring gay actor Ian Mckellen — with those only about white gay men with the one that demonizes an oppressed person starring a famous gay actor. Fat people are treated like they are creepy just for having feelings for other people that are completely normal. Black and brown people are treated like they are somehow inherently dangerous just for existing, not to mention if they try to speak up about their oppression. The list goes on and on.
Women in all populations are among the most scrutinized, stigmatized and demonized. Imagine replacing Faye Wong with a plus-size black or brown trans woman, these men would rip her apart. So many films among top film lists for many of these little film boys feature a plethora of breast shots, objectification and (in the case of American film watchers partaking in the consumption of Asian films) racial fetishization. Not until recently have we seen Asian women portrayed as more than a sex object or joke or some racist “dragon lady” stereotypical troupe here in the States. Films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and even Disney’s “Shang Chi” have been a step ahead. Among all the films in Wong’s filmography, it is “The Grandmaster” that has the best portrayal of a woman I have thus far seen.
Part 2: Gong Er
“The Grandmaster” has one problem that could make a film an instant masterpiece in my book. It spends so much time with the wrong master. The film takes on the perspective of Ip Man as it is supposed to be based on his life, the life of Bruce Lee’s martial arts master. I know every Wong Kar Wai has to have Tony Leung, but why in this film is the narrative choice to focus on him when so much of the film’s importance is in how it tells the story of the fictional Gong Er. The film portrays the master martial artist and doctor with dignity, with the film not objectifying her body, making her ineffective or making her needlessly in need of constant saving. She, unlike many of the previous Wong Kar Wai heroines, doesn’t hyper fixate the love of a man but rather is up against men. Whether that be her own father, the more societally respected Ip Man or Ma San who also seems to garner more respect from his following which is unsurprisingly composed of men. However, the cost of such treatment seems to be that of her having a tragic arc featuring an opium addiction which leads to the end of her family’s martial arts line. If the film’s focus had been on her journey with Ip Man taking a step back, this film while being less of a biopic would’ve been more enjoyable.
The reason this is so divisive is because of all the good the film actually has. Gong Er is the character I was rooting for throughout the whole film. While Tony Leung is an amazing actor, this film is the Zhang Ziyi show. She has the most depth, growth and actually has a clear story arc. However, it is her action scenes not his that are the sickest. Her journey of being a woman who is not allowed to inherit her father’s role is the most compelling part of this movie. She is the one who takes down the main antagonist Ma San (portrayed by Zhang Jin) and does so with pure strength, elegance and in wintery fashion. Being a Chinese production, the film isn’t riddled with those racist portrayals of Asian people known here in the West. The film shows the significance of martial arts not just in a general way but in a deeply personal way to the daughter of the former grandmaster of the Baguazhang style.
“The Grandmaster” is one of Wong’s most beautiful. Its environments and costume designers are to be thanked for this the most. What makes this film stand out to me is that if you were to make an American adaptation of the film featuring a poor black or brown trans woman, the way this film is written it could have a similar effect. That effect is the portrayal of such a woman as still being beautiful but also capable, proud, strong and honorable. “The Grandmaster” is among my favorite Wong Kar Wai films for that reason and more. While I have a problem with its initial focus, the film in its excellent colors, costumes and portrayals lays the foundation for even better portrayals of oppressed people to come after it. In this film, it is simply a woman living in a man’s world, but maybe in the future we could see even more dignity restored to populations who have been robbed of it. Ryan Murphy’s Pose is a good sign of that happening here in the U.S. Let’s get more of that.
John Carter Jr. is a member of Tiger Media Network with a love for movies and music.