If you breathe poetry, you can find it anywhere. Wong Kar Wai’s latest oeuvre is a fine return to form for a man whose last two films were misfires—2004’s 2046 in particular was pretentious and hopelessly meandering—but his latest martial arts entry The Grandmaster is one of his most poetic and philosophical releases to date, buoyed by wonderfully lucid action sequences, emotional performances from leads Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi, and existential musings that would make even Sartre blush.

The film nominally traces the life of Ip Man (Leung) and his relationship with two women—his loving wife Wing-sing (Song Hye-Kyo) and Gong Er (Zhang)—the former whom he abandons in China after he moves to Hong Kong to find work, and the latter the daughter of an old martial arts master who harbors romantic longings for Ip Man. Equal parts existential melancholia and gravity-defying action sequences, the narrative moves in parallel between Ip Man’s journey through war and poverty, and Gong Er’s quest to seek vengeance for her father’s death; with equal screen time for both characters.

Themes of honor, love, loss and the passage of time permeate the film as it pays homage to the martial arts tradition and its masters with a wonderfully keen eye. Wong’s penchant for nuanced detail is beautifully realized by his new collaborator and cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd, who creates entrancing depictions of even the most mundane of elements like raindrops. And in one of the film’s many highlights, Ip Man and Gong Er engage in a duel filmed like a delicate courtship; a metaphor for their forbidden and unconsummated feelings for one another. The Grandmaster pulsates with so much understated mystery and desire on an emotional level, with much to marvel at visually as well—action sequences depicted on the big screen have never looked this graceful and convincing. It will move you in ways you never thought imaginable.