Sunday, December 28, 2008

Ip Man: Movie Review


Ip Man was a man who resembles your next door neighbor, very friendly and charming too. Always humble and never goes overboard by being cocky and uptight too. A really friendly man. So, why does he adopt and teach Wing Chun, one of the most popular martial arts in the world?

Donnie Yen takes the role of Ip Man (I must strictly teach that you pronounce his name as yip mun) as the grandmaster of Wing Chun during the early days of the 1935, where Fo Shan was the best place to learn martial arts. Then the Japanese Occupation kicked in where every China man landed to poverty. So, how does Ip Man prevail?

The focus on everybody's mind would be the action sequences in the movie (considering the director is Sammo Hung). But the real one you should be looking at is actually the story. And let me tell you, the story and plot is fantastic. The pacing never bores you (coughdarkkinghtcough), and it truly is an eye opener. As a bonus, you learn what is Wing Chun itself.

I could say many good things about the movie, but there are still some flaws in some scenes. The factory scene has some flaws, but barely noticable. Some shots were done beautifully, but some were also not that great. The depression around the land was done beautifully showing how merciless the Japanese were during the past.

This is for sure a yes movie for me to watch it. So, I won't waste that much of time to tell yout o watch it. But, if you are interested to learn a little bit about Wing Chun, just read a little bit more. :D

Wing Chun was created by a lady. And the best part was, she used Wing Chun to beat a barbarian who wanted her hand in marriage. Ip Man was also one of the students who practiced most of his time with the "wooden man" while also being a humble and a family man. And I think most of us would already know he taught Bruce Lee about Wing Chun.

Wing Chun emphasises the use of the "wooden man" to understand the flow of the energy from the hands. The 3 points (2 above, and 1 below) shows the flow of the energy coming from a person (Based on the use of two hands and 1 leg. Obviously you can attack using two legs to one center point on the low area). The continuous blows should represent how women repeatedly attack in one place as a concenteration point. The harmony is achieve by understanding how to manipulate the flow of the energy from the 3 points. Well, that's pretty much what I can say about Wing Chun. The rest, is for you to discover. :)

Play-Asia is currently offering some very nifty picks for buying Ip Man. You can get the localized version at Speedy and also Rock Corner for a mere RM20, but interested parties of Blu Ray and special DVD editions should be thrilled with what's to offer. Release Date: 13th February

Ip Man Single Disc DVD Edition

Ip Man 2 Disc DVD Edition

Ip Man Blu Ray Edition

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