The Grandmaster Page #4

I can only afford these cigarettes.

Back home,

I smoked real Manchurian tobacco.

Now that was smoking.

Be mild, good, respectful,

thrifty, deferential.

Deferential is the key.

Let's say I'm smoking.

A stranger sits down.

I defer to him:
Have a smoke.

Even if he doesn't smoke, he must accept

or he'll make me lose face.

Mr Ip,

have a smoke.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

You've got the gift.

Twenty years ago,

we could have sparred.

What a shame.

Some work in the light,

others in shadow.

The face of a school must be spotless.

Blood must flow only in the shadows.

If not, if it stains the face,

then the school itself may perish.

The face offers the cigarettes.

The dirty work is done in the shadows.

Mr Ip, you're too late.

Forget the 64 hands -

you'll never see even one.

1940. Chinese New Year's Eve. The Northeast.

Is it hard to kill a man?

Miss Gong,

it's not like in the old days.

Murder is punishable by death.

Is Ma San worth it?

we make our own path in life.

Should we go home,

or keep waiting?

It's New Year's Eve.

He'll be here soon.

We have to wait.

All right.

We'll wait.

This is between Miss Gong and Ma San.

Everyone else stay out of it.

There you are,

still playing with your monkey.

Deal with him!

Get him!

You're worse than a debt collector,

trying to ruin my New Year's Eve.

The dumplings are in the pot,

but you won't be eating them.

I let you off before

to avoid destroying the Gong clan.

You should know when to give up.

Those needing salvation burn joss.

Those who are hungry, eat.

What I must do,

I will do and nothing can stop me.

The Gong Family legacy

must return to me tonight.

Fine.

It's a part of me.

You want it -

come and get it.

Master!

Keep away.

Ma San,

speak!

That day,

the Old Master

spoke to me

about his supreme move -

Old Monkey Hangs up his Badge.

He said the key to the move

was turning back.

At the time,

I didn't get it.

I thought

he couldn't keep up with the times.

The Gong Family legacy

I return to you.

Let's be clear.

You didn't return it.

I took it back myself.

Miss Gong!

Miss Gong!

1952. Hong Kong. White Rose Barber Shop

Sorry.

I miss my mom.

You got my notice about the memorial?

Yes.

Open a business, follow the rules.

It's the same everywhere.

Do you know how much weight

a summons from me carries?

It's measured in gold.

Brother, I've got the money.

And I've got my life.

Whichever is worth more,

take it.

I like those eyes of yours.

They remind me of my mom's.

Want both? Or just one?

Not so fast.

How about,

you do the honors?

Forget it.

You're a real man.

It's the anniversary of my mom's death.

I'll leave you those two lamps of yours.

As the rivers flow, we'll meet again.

I'll take my leave.

Want the money -

there're rules for that too.

What use are rules?

Keep it simple.

I stab you three times then you stab me.

How common.

Then raise the tone.

See that chair over there?

If I can't plant your ass there,

keep the cash.

You're kidding, aren't you?

Brother,

here's your prayer money.

Next time you'll be joining your mom.

Off you go.

To tell the truth,

Take me as a disciple!

Teach you?

It'd be a waste of my time.

That's speaking honestly too.

Just a few pointers?

That same year, The Razor began teaching.

Baji kungfu came to Hong Kong.

In 1952, Gong Er stopped seeing patients.

Some say her old injury drove her to opium.

Others that she was obsessed with kungfu.

I last saw her at a teahouse.

Do you know this opera?

I think I heard it before in Foshan.

Something about a dream.

A Dream of Love.

Love is just that, a dream.

It's said

no instrument is as lovely as a voice.

Words always sound better sung.

Has Miss Gong studied opera?

Just the basics.

Back then if I'd put my mind to it,

I'd be an opera star.

All those tales, happy and sad...

If I tired of Yang Family Women Generals,

I'd sing Waking from a Dream.

Think of it -

me on stage, you in the audience,

meeting that way.

Wouldn't that be something?

But what if it was sold out?

You flatter me.

If you came, I'd save you a seat.

You've performed well in the opera of life.

You have both timing and skill.

Unfortunately,

you never saw beyond your role.

I'd no idea you watched me like an opera.

This opera of mine,

applauded or not,

will play on to the end.

I asked you

here to bring things to a close

and say what needs to be said.

Are you going somewhere?

We have a saying in the North -

a tiger never quits the mountain.

We've both been living on foreign soil.

I'm so very tired.

I want to go home.

But I wanted to return this to you first.

As for the 64 Hands,

I've already forgotten them.

I was lucky to meet you in my prime.

Sadly, my time is running out.

To say there are no regrets in life,

is just to fool yourself.

How boring it would be without regrets.

Mr Ip, to tell you the truth,

I cared about you.

I don't mind telling you that.

It's not a crime to love.

But that's all it can ever be.

I never said that to anyone before.

Seeing you tonight,

I don't know why, it just came out.

Let's say we suspend this game

of chess between us.

Take care.

In life, as in chess,

a move once made stays on the board.

What we have

is simply fate.

Your father once said,

never give up the faith.

Keep the light burning.

I hope that one day

I'll see the 64 Hands once more.

My father said mastery had three stages -

being,

knowing,

doing.

I know myself.

I've seen the world.

Sadly, I can't pass on what I know.

This is a road

I won't see to the end.

I hope you will.

Is this street of schools

all the Martial World has come to be?

A great age offers a choice:

stay or move on.

I choose to remain in my era,

the times when I was happiest.

In 1953, Gong Er died in Hong Kong.

She kept her vows

to the end.

Tomorrow I take Miss Gong's coffin home.

She left this for you.

In imperial times I was an executioner.

The Republic left me out of a job.

Had Master Gong not taken me in,

I'd have landed in the gutter like a dog.

He never looked down on me.

He made me his daughter's guardian.

My fierceness would protect her.

He nicknamed me Lucky Star,

so fortune would shine on her always.

For a woman,

taking vows is a kind of death.

To avenge her father,

she vowed never to marry or teach,

to remain single her whole life.

She kept that vow.

These are the ashes

from when she cut and burnt her hair.

She said she knew you a long time,

But you didn't really know her,

nor she you.

Seeing these ashes,

you'll understand her better.

Mr Ip,

the Gong Family is through.

Miss Gong belongs to you now.

Like her father,

Gong Er never lost a fight.

She only ever lost to herself.

1953. Ip Man gets his Hong Kong ID

after the border to China is shut.

The day I left Foshan,

I wanted to say something

but couldn't speak the words.

My heart will carry me back to you.

When I left her that time,

I thought I'd be able to return.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes