The Go Master

Spoilers ahead! Yar!

Those of us with eccentric or arcane hobbies are used to the neglect from mainstream media and publicity. I think Go, as least for Westerners, falls nicely under the category “Arcane Hobby” and it shows. There are few references to Go in sitcoms, no televised events, and only paltry mention of the game in newspapers, and usually only then when Go is somehow involved in charity or child development.

There are, however, a few odd and glittering moments when an entertainment venue taps Go as a vehicle for art. Though it wasn’t the brainchild of a Western director (we will have to wait sometime for that) Zhuangzhuang Tian’s film Go Master relies heavily on Go as a leitmotif to tell the compelling and conflicted story of a Go wunderkind named Wu Qingyuan. In order to foster his prodigious aptitude for Go, a young Qingyuan travels from his native China to Japan where his skill earns him a respected position in the competitive Go community. But while he may have found success on the Go board, Qingyuan finds life far from home increasingly difficult. The strain of living in a foreign land accrues on his fragile but apt mind, and the gradually worsening relations between 1930’s Japan and China leave him caught between two cultures and two homes. When war breaks out Qingyuan is torn from his homeland, his heritage and even his precious game of Go. In a wandering journey of self-reflection he approaches the issues of identity, love and faith and is once again caught in a turmoil that rivals the greatest challenge on the Go board.

It is a compelling story. The history of relations between Japan and China reads like a good mystery novel, though far more macabre and serious. But what a Western audience lacks, besides an interest in East Asian history, is a micro-history to sympathize with. How can we ever attune to the prevailing attitudes of two intimately related countries that seem very distant and very far, without a human face? Qingyuan is merely a human figure for a much larger and more poignant dialogue, and one we can translate into our own experience. But Sino-Japanese relations and their cinema personifications are a field of study all their own. What I appreciate most about Wu Qingyuan is its story telling props and it goes without saying that those are embodied in the game of Go. Qingyuan is, after all, the titular “Go Master”. But where does Go fit into the major themes of the film?

Go is ancillary. It is not the central plot. If you want that, watch Hikaru no Go. In The Go Master, Go is an extended metaphor, if veiled and implicit, for Qingyuan’s inner struggle. At first he rationalizes, ponders and meditates his way through Japan’s xenophobia and his own clamoring for a Chinese identity. Only when these fail does he rely on blind faith. And even a beginner can recognize that blind faith is a poor tactic in Go, and so it is in Qingyuan’s life as well.

The scenes with players playing Go are incredibly well filmed, almost to the point of elegance. A mix of serene Japanese interiors and verdant gardens in the background with detailed symmetry between rival players captures the dramatic quality of Go. The director captures the historically correct low-light with a strong grasp of color, giving an unexpected quality of vibrancy and liveliness to what is, by all means, a very quiet and demure game. And though these shots of Go are intermittent, they establish the entire stylistic approach to the film. Zhuangzhuang’s efforts are a generous panegyric to the subtle beauty of Go, and practically everything else in the shot – the tatami, the player’s raiment, the shoji, even the eerie silence that accompanies the obligatory moment of thought.

The last time a movie was made on a hobby of mine it was the Dungeons & Dragons film. Truly, that movie was a desolate waste hole of budgeting. Even the Lord of Thieves, an concept so cool it’s impossible to mess up, was given a pugilistic beating with the stick of ineptitude. To have a film that does beautiful justice to a game it incorporates, then, is quite the benison. The Go Master received accolades at a local Asian Film Festival, but beyond a cursory review here and there and a small fan base of loyalist watchers, I doubt it has made much of an impact here. The cultural translation required is minimal, only being a hair more foreign than Letters From Iwo Jima, so it could be done. Still, do yourself a favor and find a vendor or a friend who has a copy of this movie and watch it. It’s nice to bring a little color back to a game whose roots have indelible aesthetic qualities that can be leeched after so much time relegated to LCD screens and low color visuals.