The Go Master

Go, the Japanese name for the Chinese game Weiqi, looks like Othello but is infinitely more complex than chess, and the aim is to capture the largest area of the board. A game of balancing tensions, with more possible outcomes than known atoms in the universe, and play that can last months.

And you thought there was a lot of snooker on telly.

Still not widely known in the West due to the zen like patience required to play it, Go has previously cropped up in Pi and A Beautiful Mind.

Tian Zhuangzhuang, director of the wonderful The Blue Kite, presents a respectful portrait of Wu, the Go child prodigy who has spent most of his life in Japan where the game has enjoyed a lasting popularity.

Following Wu’s life from his early fame to his emigration to Japan and rise as a formidable player, The Go Master is light on psychological insight and assumes whole books of knowledge about supporting characters, but the elegant visuals and performances hold the attention.

Set mainly against the rising tide of nationalism and the dark period of World War 2, Tian depicts the conflict as a foolish distraction from mastering the notoriously difficult game (including a stunning sequence in Hiroshima when the Bomb stops play, but only for a moment), and a post-war segment reveals how Tian was manipulated by one of the many cults that sprung up after Hirohito declared he was not a God.

Crouching Tiger’s Chang Chen carries the film with a delicate performance, hinting at the inner turmoil the famously composed man suffered during the war years as Japan ripped China apart, and his despondency after an accident ended his near twenty year winning streak.

Some audiences will emerge bewildered and frustrated by the rules of the game and the movie's glacial pacing, but there is a power to the central message that a constant search for betterment is the only way to achieve peace and enlightenment.

Now, who’s up for Battleships?

Rob Daniel