Film: Ip Man

No wonder Ip Chun (Ip Man's son, consultant to this movie) was so pleased-- from the twinkle in his eyes to the lifting of his feet, Donnie Yen inhabits this movie like he is possessed by Ip Man.

Revolving around the central (true) event of Ip Man sparring with Japanese soldiers when they occupied China and then rejecting their "request" to train them, this is essentially a genre movie built around the martial arts set-piece (Wing Chun vs Karate, see the trailer) "exploding" mid-way through.

And what a movie they have built up around their central show-piece! Taking on the common martial arts/Kung Fu Movie theme of "what can one martial artist do against a turbulent world/time?" (one of the movie's promotional tag-lines), the story "hook" is not whether Ip Man will win-- but rather when he will be forced to fight and what would happen when he does. And the notable level of acting, scripting, production, etc. --highlighting not only Ip Man but also the plight of his family, friends and townsmen-- really ramps up the drama and "heart" for audiences who might not care for the genre.

Of course, it also inspired in me a new-found respect for Wing Chun (Ip Man's school of martial arts)-- as well as action director Sammo Hung's "tight" choreography and camera-work (in China/HK, action directors control the camera as well as direct the actors). The close-to-mid range shots make it easier to "catch" the stunt doubles... but just like everything else in the movie-- blink and you'll miss it!

For much like Wing Chun, everything in this movie moves succinctly to the point-- people only speak or fight to make a point and never repeat or belabor the "message". So despite running close to 2 hours, the (cut-theatrical release of) movie feels much too short-- but thank you, Wilson Yip (director of this movie), for respecting the audiences' intelligence: for a movie that is basically a war/ nationalist melodrama, it unfolds as elegantly as Ip Man's character (& Donnie Yen's acting)... and even makes subtle commentaries on the different psychological profiles of an occupied people.

In short, "Ip Man" is quite a good ("mainstream") movie-- but a great martial arts/Kung Fu (not "action", as Donnie Yen points out during interviews) movie. And some telling numbers explain why:

There are around 12 fights (give or take, depending on how you count them) evenly spaced from the opening fight to the last, with Donnie Yen in about 6 of them. There are only around 3 weapon fights (give or take, not counting guns), with Donnie Yen in about 2 of them; and only around 5 group fights (give or take, anything with more than 2 people), with Donnie Yen in about 3 of them-- which is why this is a martial arts movie, and not an "action" movie (no explosions, chases, shoot-outs, etc.). Donnie Yen's shortest fight takes about 10 seconds and his longest runs around 2 minutes, while the other fights last about the same lengths of time-- which gels with Donnie Yen's belief that real people fight to win and don't "pose, talk, fight, run, and pose, talk, run, fight..." (an old Kung Fu Movie convention).

Together with the miscellaneous violence (guns, etc.), the audience is virtually given an "adrenaline shot" every 5 minutes or so (which easily lasts until the next "shot"), with the type of "shot" varied so as to keep the audience on a "high"-- and breaking out easily into smiles, tears and even cheers.

But for those who care: this movie is supposedly 70% true (according to Wilson Yip)-- in that the earlier parts are based on various events in Ip Man's life, with the final third of the movie added as fiction to make the movie work/end better. And as "a side-story about a simple people in a small place (Foshan, China) during World War II", there are only a few lines of text and transitional scenes to show that Foshan lost three-quarters of its population during the Japanese invasion/occupation (which actually works if you're familiar with the history). So those craving more creativity, complexity or completeness will be disappointed-- e.g. by the way the movie "summarized" Ip Man's life at the end.

Whatever the quibble, "Ip Man" heralds a break-though in realism for "grounded" martial arts/ Wushu movies; the way "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" heralded a break-through in surrealism for "floating" martial arts/Wuxia movies. It is clearly made for fans of Wing Chun, Chinese cinema and Kung Fu Movies-- and it makes no apologies for that (thank goodness for no "foreign" investors).

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