Wong Kar Wai's THE GRANDMASTER to Open Berlinale, and Hopefully Play Sooner in Hong Kong

After five years of waiting and numerous delays, it looks like Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmaster (which is officially no longer plural) is finally going to be unleashed on the  public. After it's Hong Kong release date was pushed back from December 18 to January 8, the film is apparently now set to open just two days later on January 10. Moreover, it has just been announced as the opening film for the Berlin Film Festival. I doubt even an internationally-respected director like Wong has the clout to pull a festival's opening night film for tinkering, so at the absolute latest, we'll get some reactions to the film by mid-February.

Once again, this is Wong Kar Wai's take on the legendary martial arts master Yip Man, played here by the incomparable Tony Leung Chiu Wai. The first trailer did make it look like a departure of sorts for the moody auteur, promising something like an all-out action movie with arty cinematography. Still, based on his previous forays into martial arts (Ashes of Time) and killer-for-hire (Fallen Angels) genres, I'm betting that time and unrequited love will somehow factor much more into this one than fighting. We'll find out soon regardless.