Film

The Go Master

Description: Leisurely biopic paying tribute to Wu Qingyuan, one of the world's foremost players of an ancient game called Go. The film follows child prodigy Wu through his formative years in China in the early part of the 20th century to his competition days in Japan, when he strives for victory at any cost. The subsequent tug of war between dedication and personal satisfaction unfolds against a backdrop of historical turmoil, including the bombing of Hiroshima.

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Dir: Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Cast: Chang Chen, Sylvia Chang, Akira Emoto, Keiko Matsuzaka

Country: China.

Year: 2006.

Duration: 104mins

Go for it

He's game: Wu Qingyuan is the subject of the film

27 Mar 2008

Tian Zhuangzhuang's subject in this beautiful, contemplative film is Wu Qingyuan, one of the masters of 'go', a Chinese game rivalling chess in its complexity.

Chang Chen plays the tubercular Wu, who lived through a many of the worst moments of 20th century history, mostly in Japan, but seldom had much time for anything but go.

At one point in the film, a game is interrupted by an explosion signifying the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It fells the players and sends shafts of wood over the table before everyone composes themselves and the referee calmly says: 'Resume the game.'