“IP Man” Movie Review
“IP Man” is a Chinese film directed by Wilson Yip released in 2008. The film is about a martial arts master who became a legend in East Asia and who happened to be the teacher of famous actor/martial arts legend Bruce Lee. The movie is based in the life of the real IP Man from the 1930s to 1945 in the city of Fousan, China. The movie focuses on the life of IP Man and his family while portraying the historical events that shook China during those years, such as the Japanese invasion, the end of WWII and the events that changed a generation of Chinese people. The movie is engaging from the beginning and the scenes of martial arts give the movie a sense of action that captivates the audience. This movie reflects the suffering of the Chinese people during that time and their way of life. It shows how the people of China tried to survive and even extract some revenge against the Japanese. There is a scene where Chinese workers are taken to fight Japanese soldiers using Kung Fu and every time a Chinese defeats a Japanese in the mat, there is the sense of victory from the underdog. Also, there is the fight of IP Man against a Japanese general who thought he was the best at martial arts. It is during this fight that the spirit of the Chinese people is portrayed in a very Confucian style because a humble, unassuming IP man gets to defeats the Japanese general. This fight is not only the crowing scene of the movie, but also the representation of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people. I believe this will be a great movie to show to a high school class because it is engaging and historically accurate as much as the film script allows.
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