“The Grandmaster” Movie Kicks Off Berlin Film Festival

The Berlin Film Festival started with bang on Thursday thanks to “The Grandmaster” martial arts movie, which tells the story of Yip Man, the guy who taught Bruce Lee Kung Fu.

The movie was directed by Wong Kar-wai, who is also a member of the judges panel for the Berlin Film Festival. The judges will have to watch 19 movies who are all competing for prizes in the 63rd Berlinale. These movies 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.

The judges have already picked one winner in this years festival.  French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann will be honored for his nine-and-a-half hour documentary “Shoah” about the genocide of European Jews, which was shown at the festival in 1986.

More than 400 movies will be screened at the event between Feb. 7-17.

Wong said he felt compelled to make the film about Bruce Lee’s mentor because of the hardships he had to overcome. “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 honor in front of all this hardship”

I.M.