Study on Foreign Imange Contries Based on Poetic Language
Shi Wu Li
Beijing National University of Foreign Studies
China
Poetic films center on freehand expression, constructing non-plot narratives by virtue of poetic audiovisual language and interpreting the spiritual and emotional world through a narrative logic that is fragmented in form yet unified in essence. Wong Kar-wai’s film The Grandmaster exhibits a distinct post-modern artistic style, and its image construction constantly navigates between narration and lyricism. On one hand, the film deconstructs traditional time-space consciousness and plot logic in the macro narrative structure; on the other hand, it constructs a poetic aesthetic system by means of micro narrative symbols, among which linguistic symbols, as the core carrier, enhance poetic characteristics through the exquisite design of conceptual metaphors, conversational implicatures and discourse rhythm; ultimately, it shapes a unique poetic style relying on the coordination of narrative rhythm and linguistic rhythm, completing the construction of a “prose-style poetic film”. Integrating film semiotics and linguistic theories, this paper deconstructs the generative mechanism of the poetic imagery of The Grandmaster from three dimensions: macro narrative structure, micro linguistic symbol construction, and the coordination of narrative and linguistic rhythms, revealing the core ideational function of linguistic symbols in poetic films.
The Grandmaster; poetic film; audiovisual language; linguistic symbol; conceptual metaphor; discourse construction
“Poetic film” is an academic concept derived in the post-modern cultural context, and there is no unified authoritative definition so far. In the 1920s, the French avant-garde initiated the research on poetic films, advocating anti-traditional narrative structures and anti-plot expressions, and exploring the symbolic functions and rhythmic effects of visual symbols in guiding emotions; after the 1930s, the trend of poetic realism emerged, with filmmakers attempting to build a bridge between poetic lyricism and realistic expression. Representatives of the French avant-garde, German expressionism, and creators of the Soviet montage school have all promoted stylized image creation through unique artistic practices, and their works have become important carriers of abstract concepts and formal experiments. Modern Western poetic films inherit the early creative propositions, emphasizing the abstraction and form sense of expression, and highlighting the core value of metaphor and rhythm; while poetic films developed in specific cultural contexts focus more on artistic conception construction and freehand expression. Some researchers summarize poetic films as “breaking away from the constraints of strict time sequence in structure and adopting a loose and free framework; replacing external narrative motivation with internal psychological tension in emotional expression to strengthen the ideational function of emotions” [7]; other scholars define them as “freehand films”, holding that such works “prioritize spirit over form (here ‘form’ specifically refers to structural logical relations), lyricism over narration, expression over representation, and subjectivity over objectivity, with an artistic realm tending to be ‘endless meaning beyond words'” [7]. Although these definitions are not completely unified, they accurately point to the core characteristics of poetic films.
From an interdisciplinary perspective, the poetic quality of poetic films is not only generated by audio-visual symbols but also relies on the construction and support of linguistic symbol systems. As a core tool for human cognition and expression, the application of language in films—including dialogue design, voice-over narration, and discourse rhythm—through sophisticated coding at the linguistic level, becomes a key carrier for conveying poetic connotations. Existing research mostly focuses on the poetic construction of visual symbols, with insufficient attention to the linguistic mechanisms of linguistic symbols. As a recognized representative work of poetic films, The Grandmaster features concise and ambiguous language expression, providing a typical model for interpretation from a linguistic perspective. Characterized by anti-traditional narrative methods, iconic lens language and stream-of-consciousness expression techniques, the film breaks logical constraints in an open narrative structure, transforms martial arts competition scenes into audio-visual language with oriental aesthetic characteristics, and constructs a poetic core of “implication beyond words” through seemingly loose plot combinations.
Based on this, this paper adopts text analysis method, integrates relevant theories of film semiotics and linguistics (including conceptual metaphor theory, conversational implicature theory and discourse analysis theory), and deconstructs the image construction logic of The Grandmaster from the whole to the part. The research focuses on the deconstruction and reconstruction of macro narrative structure, the poetic coding mechanism of micro linguistic symbols, and the synergistic effect of narrative rhythm and linguistic rhythm, explores the core role of linguistic symbols in poetic generation, explains the in-depth construction path of the film’s poetic connotation, and provides a new theoretical perspective and analytical paradigm for the interdisciplinary research of poetic films.
The structural core of traditional narrative films lies in two intertwined relationships: one is the time-space structural relationship within the film, and the other is the plot structural relationship. The two support each other, unfolding the plot through time and space, and reproducing time and space through the plot, forming a rigorous closed loop of narrative logic. In contrast, poetic films weaken the strong correlation between time-space and plot, break the traditional linear time-space view, make the time-space structure break away from the constraints of realistic rules, and present weak or no logical correlation between plots. Its narrative structure takes internal ideational needs as the core, breaks the structural integrity through plot elements outside the main narrative, and presents the prose-style characteristic of “prioritizing spirit over form”. This creative logic is consistent with the concept of “interweaving of emptiness and reality” in specific artistic creations, that is, completing surreal freehand poetic expression in a narrative context of blurred time-space and weakened plot.
The uniqueness of The Grandmaster does not stem from the appeal of the story itself, but from its deconstruction and reconstruction of traditional narrative rules. This reconstruction is reflected in the non-linear coding of narrative discourse at the linguistic level. Centering on the core connotation of “grandmaster”, the film does not establish a clear linear time-space narrative line and logical relationship line. The discontinuity of the time-space structure leads to weak plot correlation, and the dramatic conflicts in traditional narratives are greatly weakened. However, this narrative mode based on internal connotation as the basis for plot connection provides more possibilities for the film’s surreal freehand expression and stylized construction. The film focuses on the legendary experiences of multiple grandmasters in martial arts sects during a specific historical period. Initially, it takes Ip Man as the main narrative perspective, but as the plot progresses, Ip Man gradually transforms from a core connector to one of the multiple narrative subjects, highlighting the core theme that “a generation of grandmasters is not an individual, but a collection of martial arts spirit of an era”.
From the perspective of the cohesion logic of narrative discourse, the film opens with a scene of Ip Man drinking tea, then directly “hard cuts” to the “rainy night fierce fight” scene. There is no direct plot connection between the two scenes, and the ideational cohesion is only realized through the core semantic field of “martial arts”. This cohesion method belongs to “semantic leap cohesion” in linguistics, replacing the continuity of plot logic with the continuity of core semantic elements. Subsequently, with Ip Man’s voice-over as the narrative link, the film switches the time and space to the “retirement ceremony of northern boxers”. The internal time and space of this segment present a point-like jump characteristic, and finally promote the plot through seemingly random picture combinations. On the surface, there is a lack of causal logic and time-space continuity between these scenes, and the lens editing does not follow the continuity principle of traditional narratives. However, in-depth analysis reveals that its narrative discourse always revolves around core semantic fields such as “martial arts”, “grandmaster” and “inheritance”, forming a multi-level ideational system and maximizing the ideational tension in a loose time-space structure.
In the narrative segment after the competition between Ip Man and Gong Er in the Golden Pavilion, the time-space switching is more complex, presenting a narrative effect similar to Eisenstein’s “montage of attractions”. The film selects narrative elements with strong emotional appeal, edits the lenses according to internal ideational needs, and guides the audience’s emotions and cognition through the director’s subjective discourse interpretation. When the past and present time-space, as well as the personal time-space of Ip Man and Gong Er, intersect, the traditional narrative function retreats to a secondary position, and the core of the narrative discourse turns to the interpretation of the complex emotional relationship between them. This characteristic is consistent with the time-space structure logic of poetic films—the organization of narrative discourse is centered on “theme” and oriented towards “ideation”. As some researchers have pointed out: “Poetic films have no intention of reproducing the objective time-space in the physical sense, but strive to create a subjective illusory time-space” [7]. Obviously, the core pursuit of poetic films is not the reproduction of facts, but the expression of emotions and ideas through the artistic coding of narrative discourse. In addition, from the perspective of the spatial relationship coding of picture discourse, the change of depth of field constructs a vertical time-space relationship: in a fixed time dimension, a large depth of field expands the spatial scope, pulls the spatial distance between foreground and background characters, and generates a sense of alienation; a small depth of field narrows the spatial scope, shortens the character relationship, and conveys a sense of closeness. This spatial coding of picture discourse coordinates with the time-space deconstruction of narrative discourse, jointly serving the poetic expression of the film.
The non-linear coding of narrative discourse inevitably leads to the jumpy progress of the plot. As film theorist Jean Mitry said: “The most common narrative method of films is to strictly follow the chronological sequence” [4]. In contrast, the narrative discourse of The Grandmaster centers on character activities, breaking away from the constraints of abstract narrative rules. Due to the rich plot elements and diverse character relationships in the film, there is a lack of rigorous logical correlation between the narrative segments with characters as the main body, making it difficult to form a fixed plot line and dramatic conflict points. For example, there is no close logical relationship line between the narrative segments of Ip Man, Gong Baosen, Yi Xiantian and other characters. This flexible block narrative structure is essentially the semantic arrangement of narrative motivation—endowing narrative motivation with deeper connotation through the connection of core semantic elements. In this open narrative structure, “form can not only create the perceptible content of the narrative, but also the narrative itself, and at the same time generate various ideations” [3]. The contradictory conflict between Gong Baosen and Ma San, and the emotional entanglement between Gong Er and Ip Man are all distributed in a scattered narrative manner. The occurrence order and time nodes of the plots do not follow the traditional logic of character personality development or event conflicts. For example, the plots such as Gong Baosen reprimanding Ma San at the retirement ceremony, Ma San becoming a traitor many years later, and Gong Baosen summoning Ma San do not clearly explain the time-space background, but are narratively coded according to the internal personality traits and psychological time-space of the characters. Although the film does not provide complete time-space and plot information, the audience can supplement and reconstruct the narrative logic at the cognitive level through the connection of core semantic elements. This expression form not constrained by traditional narrative rules not only enriches the narrative content, but also expands the ideational space of the film, enabling it to have the possibility of multi-dimensional interpretation, which is exactly the core characteristic of poetic film narrative discourse.
Micro narrative symbols in films include visual symbols and auditory symbols, specifically covering the selection of image symbols, the arrangement of picture symbols, diachronic and synchronic symbols in lens construction, and the ideational connotation of symbols after montage editing. Jean Mitry pointed out in Aesthetics and Psychology of the Cinema: “A film is first and foremost an image system that aims to describe, display and narrate an event or a series of events” [4]. As the basic carrier of film narrative, image symbols are the direct bridge connecting the audience and the story. However, Mitry also emphasized that a single image symbol does not have an independent ideational function; it can only convey meaning through the organization of the surface information system and the montage editing of “ideational cells”. The connotation system composed of numerous ideational cells has the characteristic of overall ideation. This theory is also applicable to linguistic symbols in films—a single linguistic symbol (word, sentence) has limited ideational function; only through coding combinations that conform to linguistic rules and integration into the overall narrative symbol system can the transmission of poetic connotations be realized.
In the micro narrative symbol system of The Grandmaster, linguistic symbols are the core carrier of poetic aesthetic construction. Through the use of conceptual metaphors, the setting of conversational implicatures, and the regulation of discourse rhythm, the film completes the poetic coding of linguistic symbols, and constructs a complete poetic ideational system in coordination with visual symbols.
3.1 Poetic Coding of Visual Symbols: Semantic Coordination between Pictures and Language
Luis Buñuel proposed inPoetry and Cinema: “Cinema is the best tool for expressing the world of dreams, emotions and instincts. A film is like an involuntary imitation of a dream. The invention of cinema seems to be to express people’s inner activities, which are deeply rooted in poetry” [5]. Both films and poetry have the function of interpreting the spiritual world, and the realism, perceptibility and aesthetic appeal of film images endow them with unique advantages in emotional expression. Film thinking is essentially image thinking, and the surreal beauty of poetic films is mainly realized through the coding of visual symbols such as costumes, props, colors and characters in picture composition. As the core link in the selection and arrangement of picture symbols, composition completes the construction of the surface information system by highlighting core symbols and weakening secondary symbols, which not only creates a surface poetic artistic conception, but also conveys deep connotations through the relationship between picture symbols.
Overall, The Grandmaster adopts a visual symbol coding strategy of “simplifying complexity”, highlighting the subject through close-up shots and lighting effects, using long-focus lenses to narrow the clear range of the picture to hide background companions, and creating a historical texture with retro colors, conveying the atmosphere of the era in the reflection of light and shadow. From the perspective of specific scenes, in the segment where Gong Baosen holds the retirement ceremony in the Golden Pavilion, the magnificent Golden Pavilion is used as the background to highlight the sense of luxury in the classical aesthetic artistic conception. To interpret the characteristics of the main characters, the film creates an obscure mood through slight downward shooting and pale yellow light and shadow, shifting the focus of picture expression to “internalization” and focusing on the inner world and psychological state of the main characters. This “simplifying complexity” strategy of visual symbols realizes the organic integration of image symbols in form by strengthening main symbols and weakening environmental symbols, laying the foundation for the film’s unique visual style.
It is worth noting that the coding of visual symbols in the film is always in semantic coordination with the coding of linguistic symbols. For example, in the segment of the retirement ceremony in the Golden Pavilion, Gong Baosen’s line “In a sect, some people take the face, others take the inside” forms a semantic echo with the virtual-real contrast between the main characters and the background environment in the picture—”face” corresponds to the clear main characters and the luxurious Golden Pavilion environment in the picture, while “inside” corresponds to the vague background characters and the hidden martial arts rules in the picture. Through the semantic coordination of visual symbols and linguistic symbols, the poetic connotation of “the complementary relationship between the surface and the inside in martial arts inheritance” is strengthened. This collaborative coding mechanism makes visual symbols and linguistic symbols support each other, not only enriching the ideational levels, but also enhancing the poetic appeal of the film.
3.2 Poetic Coding of Linguistic Symbols: Interpretation Based on Linguistic Theories
Character dialogue in film sound is an important part of narrative codes, which plays a key role in the formation of narrative style. Dialogue not only undertakes the function of promoting the plot, but also has the role of expressing emotions. Dialogues in poetic films are usually concise, elegant and flexible. In addition to conveying surface information, linguistic symbols also assume the functions of atmosphere creation and poetic connotation transmission. The linguistic symbol system of The Grandmaster accurately reflects this characteristic, and its dialogue design integrates linguistic mechanisms such as conceptual metaphors and conversational implicatures, strengthening the film’s poetic characteristics through sophisticated linguistic coding.
3.2.1 Conceptual Metaphor: Cognitive Construction of Poetic Connotations
Conceptual metaphor theory holds that human cognitive activities are essentially metaphorical. People realize the cognition and understanding of abstract things by mapping familiar and concrete conceptual domains to unfamiliar and abstract conceptual domains [8]. The Grandmaster extensively uses conceptual metaphors, establishing mapping relationships between the concrete conceptual domain of “martial arts” and abstract conceptual domains such as “life”, “inheritance” and “emotion”, and constructing poetic connotations through the metaphorical coding of linguistic symbols.
The line in the film, “Martial arts, two characters: one horizontal and one vertical. The right one stands; the wrong one falls”, constructs the conceptual metaphor of “martial arts = life choices”. It maps “standing” and “falling” in martial arts competitions to “correct choices” and “wrong choices” in life, using specific martial arts scenes to metaphorize abstract life philosophy, enabling abstract life thinking to be conveyed through concrete linguistic symbols, forming a concise and profound poetic expression. Another example is the line “A fist cannot only have the road ahead, but no past behind”, which constructs the conceptual metaphor of “practicing boxing = life progress”. “The road ahead” corresponds to the future development of life, and “the past behind” corresponds to the past accumulation and root inheritance of life. Through this metaphor, it reveals the core connotation that “life progress needs to balance inheritance and development”, with concise language and profound meaning.
The use of these conceptual metaphors makes the linguistic symbols of the film go beyond the surface narrative function and enter the in-depth cognitive and philosophical level. Through the metaphorical mapping mechanism, the audience comprehends abstract life philosophy from specific martial arts discourse. This expressive effect of “endless meaning beyond words” is exactly the core characteristic of poetic language. At the same time, the ambiguity of metaphors also provides a multi-dimensional interpretation space for the audience, further strengthening the poetic characteristics of the film.
3.2.2 Conversational Implicature: Generation Path of Poetic Tension
According to pragmatist H. P. Grice’s conversational implicature theory, in the process of communication, speakers and listeners usually follow the cooperative principle (including the maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim of relation and maxim of manner). When a speaker intentionally violates a certain maxim, the listener will infer and understand the “conversational implicature” beyond the literal meaning conveyed by the speaker through context [9]. The dialogues in The Grandmaster extensively use conversational implicatures, generating poetic tension by violating the cooperative principle, making the language expression intriguing.
Gong Baosen’s line to Gong Er, “In a sect, some people take the face, others take the inside”, violates the “maxim of quantity” in the cooperative principle—it does not fully explain the specific referents of “face” and “inside”. However, combined with the context, its conversational implicature can be inferred: it not only persuades Gong Er not to be aggressive, but also implies the complementary relationship between himself and his senior brother Ding Lianshan as “face and inside”, as well as the symbiotic logic of “surface glory and behind-the-scenes dedication” in martial arts inheritance. The literal meaning of this line is concise, but through the generation of conversational implicature, it conveys multi-level connotations, involving dusty martial arts past events and character relationships, forming rich poetic tension.
The dialogue between Gong Er and Ip Man when they parted, “If you come, I will wait for you” and “Take care”, violates the “maxim of quantity” and “maxim of manner”. The two short dialogues do not directly express the feeling of parting, but combined with their emotional context, the audience can infer the deep affection and reluctance contained in them. This expression method of “expressing complexity with simplicity” hides strong emotions behind concise language, generating a poetic effect of “concise and comprehensive, with profound emotion”. The repeatedly appearing line in the film, “What is deeply remembered will surely echo”, generates conversational implicature by violating the “maxim of relation”. Its literal meaning is not directly related to the specific narrative scene, but combined with the emotional development of Ip Man and Gong Er and the theme of martial arts spirit inheritance, it can be interpreted into multi-level connotations such as “persistence in emotion will eventually be responded to” and “the inheritance of spirit will not be interrupted”, adding a profound foundation to the film’s poetic expression.
3.2.3 Discourse Construction: Linguistic Regulation of Narrative Rhythm
Linguistic symbols in the film not only assume the ideational function, but also regulate the narrative rhythm through discourse construction, creating a poetic atmosphere in coordination with the lens rhythm. From the perspective of discourse types, the film extensively uses voice-over narration. This form of discourse has flexibility in narrative time, which can break through the constraints of picture time and space, realize the rapid switching of time and space and the jumpy progress of narrative. Ip Man’s voice-over, “Before I was forty, I had never seen a high mountain. When I was forty, I saw one, and only then did I realize that the hardest thing to cross is life”, summarizes the life stage with concise discourse, quickly switching the narrative time and space from youth to middle age. It not only omits cumbersome plot transitions, but also creates a vicissitudes poetic atmosphere through the lyricism of discourse.
From the perspective of discourse rhythm, the speaking speed and pauses of the dialogues in the film are carefully designed. Gong Baosen’s dialogues are slow in speaking speed and have many pauses, such as “A martial artist has three realms: seeing oneself, seeing heaven and earth, seeing all beings”. Through slow speaking speed and deliberate pauses, it emphasizes the philosophical nature of the discourse, allowing the audience sufficient time to comprehend its connotation, and at the same time creating a calm and profound atmosphere; while the dialogue between Ip Man and Gong Er during the competition, “Stop at the point, leave room”, is concise and brisk in speaking speed, forming a rhythmic contrast with the intense martial arts actions. It not only highlights the calmness of martial arts masters, but also enhances the poetic beauty of the picture through rhythm changes. This regulation of discourse rhythm makes linguistic symbols an important part of the narrative rhythm, coordinating with the lens rhythm and visual rhythm to jointly construct the poetic style of the film.
4. Coordination of Narrative Rhythm and Linguistic Rhythm: Overall Construction of Poetic Style
David Bordwell pointed out in Poetics of Cinema: “The core of film research is to treat it as a work of art and study its form and style” [1]. The formation of film style is closely related to narrative rhythm. Zhu Huijun defined film rhythm in Film Morphology as “caused by the duration, length and corresponding speed of the lens and lens combination sequence” [6], and divided it into narrative rhythm and audience psychological rhythm. Narrative rhythm is determined by factors such as lens editing and picture movement, reflecting the speed changes of the narrative; audience psychological rhythm is the subjective rhythmic feeling generated by the audience during the viewing process, which is directly affected by the narrative rhythm. The duration of lens editing, the speed of picture movement, the frequency of lens switching, etc., all affect the narrative rhythm, and then act on the audience’s psychological rhythm. The two are intertwined and complementary, jointly determining the rhythmic style of the film.
As an important branch of art films, poetic films have a rhythmic style that is not only different from the fast-paced narrative of commercial films, but also different from the single slow rhythm of traditional art films. Instead, they create a unique poetic atmosphere through the coordination of narrative rhythm and linguistic rhythm. Through the control of lens length, the design of lens movement, the regulation of plot scheduling, and the combination of changes in linguistic rhythm, The Grandmaster realizes the in-depth coordination of narrative rhythm and linguistic rhythm, and finally completes the overall construction of the poetic style.
4.1 Coordination of Lens Length and Discourse Length: Basic Construction of Poetic Rhythm
Lens length is one of the core factors determining narrative rhythm. Commercial films usually focus on short lens connections, creating a sense of tension through short lens duration and frequent switching, which meets the narrative needs dominated by dramatic conflicts; traditional art films prefer long lenses, slowing down the narrative rhythm through longer lens duration, weakening dramatic conflicts, and strengthening emotional expression. The Grandmaster breaks through this single rhythm mode, forming a unique poetic rhythm through the coordinated regulation of lens length and discourse length.
In the lyrical segments of the film, long lenses coordinate with long discourses. For example, in the segment where Gong Er recalls her father Gong Baosen, a long lens is used to shoot Gong Er’s facial expressions, accompanied by Gong Er’s slow and prolonged voice-over. The lens duration is basically consistent with the discourse duration. This coordination slows down the narrative rhythm, shifts the audience’s attention from plot progression to the inner emotions of the characters, and makes the audience feel the emotional changes of the characters in a slow rhythm, creating a deep poetic atmosphere. In the martial arts segments, the film adopts the coordination of short lenses and short discourses. For example, in the “rainy night fierce fight” scene, fast-switching short lenses are matched with concise and short martial arts slogans. The lens rhythm and discourse rhythm accelerate simultaneously, which not only highlights the neatness of martial arts actions, but also enhances the visual impact of the picture through rhythm contrast, while avoiding the violence of traditional martial arts films, endowing the martial arts scenes with poetic beauty.
4.2 Coordination of Lens Movement and Discourse Rhythm: Dynamic Construction of Poetic Atmosphere
Lens movement is an important means to create dynamic rhythm. Slow motion, moving lenses, etc. have strong subjectivity and lyricism, and can convey emotional connotations through speed changes. The Grandmaster deeply coordinates lens movement with discourse rhythm, creating a dynamic poetic atmosphere through the speed matching of the two. The slow motion in the film is usually matched with slow and lyrical discourse. For example, in the segment where Gong Er and Ip Man compete in the Golden Pavilion, high-speed photography is used to shoot their martial arts actions, making the actions present a slow motion effect, and at the same time matched with their concise and slow dialogues. The slow speed of lens movement coordinates with the slow rhythm of discourse, transforming intense martial arts into elegant body language, creating a poetic atmosphere of “combining hardness and softness”.
Erratic moving lenses coordinate with implicit and ambiguous discourses. For example, in the segment showing the rise and fall of martial arts sects, hand-held moving lenses are used for shooting, and the picture presents a slight shaking effect, accompanied by Ip Man’s vicissitudes voice-over. The ambiguity of the discourse coordinates with the uncertainty of the lens movement, conveying emotions about the changes of the times and the inheritance of martial arts, and creating a sad and deep poetic atmosphere. This coordination of lens movement and discourse rhythm makes the dynamic visual rhythm and linguistic rhythm support each other, enhancing the emotional appeal of the film.
4.3 Coordination of Plot Scheduling and Discourse Cohesion: Smooth Progress of Poetic Narrative
Plot scheduling affects the narrative rhythm by controlling the speed of plot progression and the intensity of conflicts, while discourse cohesion realizes the smooth transition of the plot through semantic correlation. Through the coordination of plot scheduling and discourse cohesion, The Grandmaster realizes the smooth progress of poetic narrative in a slow narrative rhythm. The film weakens the intense plot conflicts in traditional narratives, creates a slow narrative rhythm through scattered plot scheduling, and ensures the coherence of the narrative with the help of discourse cohesion of core semantic elements.
For example, plots such as Gong Baosen’s retirement, Ma San’s betrayal, and Gong Er’s revenge are all distributed in a scattered manner. The plot progresses slowly, with no obvious climax of dramatic conflicts. However, through the discourse cohesion of core semantic elements such as “inheritance”, “martial arts” and “dignity”, the film forms an organic whole from these loose plots. For instance, Gong Baosen emphasizes that “martial arts inheritance focuses on spirit” when he retires, Ma San violates the “martial virtue” principle when he betrays, and Gong Er adheres to the belief that “the Gong family has no defeats” when she takes revenge. The core semantic elements in these discourses form a coherent semantic chain, connecting different plot segments, enabling the film to achieve the coherence of ideation in a slow narrative rhythm, and creating a prose-style poetic style of “fragmented in form yet unified in essence”.
As a representative work of poetic films, the core characteristic of the image construction of The Grandmaster lies in the collaborative poetic coding of audio-visual symbols and linguistic symbols. At the macro level, the film deconstructs traditional linear narrative rules, realizes the reconstruction of time-space and plot through the non-linear coding of narrative discourse, and forms a prose-style narrative structure of “prioritizing spirit over form”; at the micro level, supported by linguistic theories, it completes the poetic coding of linguistic symbols through the exquisite design of conceptual metaphors, conversational implicatures and discourse rhythm, and constructs a multi-level ideational system in coordination with visual symbols; at the rhythm level, it creates a unique poetic atmosphere through the in-depth coordination of narrative rhythm and linguistic rhythm, and finally completes the construction of a “prose-style poetic film”.
From a linguistic perspective, the poetic quality of the film is essentially the result of the artistic coding of linguistic symbols. The use of conceptual metaphors realizes the concrete expression of abstract connotations, the setting of conversational implicatures expands the ideational space of language, and the regulation of discourse rhythm creates an emotional atmosphere in coordination with the lens rhythm. The application of these linguistic mechanisms makes the linguistic symbols of the film go beyond the traditional narrative function and become the core carrier of poetic connotation transmission. At the same time, the creative logic of the film also provides an important enlightenment for the interdisciplinary research of poetic films: integrating linguistic theories into film semiotics analysis can more deeply reveal the generative mechanism of poetic films and expand the theoretical perspective of film research.
Through the collaborative construction of audio-visual language and linguistic symbols, The Grandmaster breaks the boundary between commercial films and art films, realizing the balance between artistic expression and commercial communication. Its poetic language coding and image construction not only bring a unique aesthetic experience to the audience, but also provide a new paradigm for film creation. In the context of cross-cultural communication, the linguistic symbol coding of the film not only retains specific cultural connotations, but also realizes the possibility of cross-cultural understanding through the universality of linguistic mechanisms, providing a useful reference for the international communication of poetic films.
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