Master director Wong Kar-Wai returns with his stars Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi (and ...) for a biography of Kung Fu (Wing Chun) legend Ip Man. The cimeatography (by Philippe Le Sourd, not [a Christopher Doyle]!) is as awesome as ever. Umebayashi Shigeru repeats his sterling efforts on the soundtrack.
There is something of Leone's Once Upon a Time in America in this, with the chopped-up timelines, stolen legacies, and most clearly the Morricone theme over tears in the rain. The opening scene is just like the Agent Smiths v Neo scene in one of the later Matrixes, but better, so much better. There is a great white-out scene towards the end with Zhang Ziyi. The film ends in mid-1950s Hong Kong and I hope he returns to the 1960s next time around.
Twitchfilm has more details. The review in the New York Times is gushier than I can be, as is their prospective.
