I recently had the chance to view Ip Man, an international martial arts film made in 2008 and directed by Wilson Yip. The film is entirely in Cantonese with English subtitles and stars Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Ka Tung Lam, Siu-Wong Fan, Lynn Hung, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Tenma Shibuya, Yu  Xing, Chen Zhi Hui, and You-Nam Wong.

Ip Man starts the audience off in 1935 Fo Shan, China. At the time, Fo Shan was renowned for its martial arts practices and had many schools teaching various forms of hand-to-hand fighting. The film follows the titular character, Ip Man, a Master of the Wing Chun form of martial arts. As one of, if not the best and most respected martial arts Masters in a community of over 300,000 people Ip Man lives a life of fortune and happiness with his wife, Cheung Wing-Sing, and young son, Ip Chun. Everything changes when China is invaded by the Japanese in 1937. The subjugated people of Fo Shan are killed by brutality and starvation; the population of Fo Shan is whittled down to a mere 70,000 people. Everyone is affected by the occupation; Ip Man and family are evicted from their home and are forced to live an abject lifestyle. Ip Man makes strides to protect his family and his people. Through duels and impromptu fights Ip Man eventually gains the attention of Miura, the Japanese General, and challenges him to a duel. Upon winning, Ip Man is shot and the outraged community rebels against their oppressors.

Ip Man takes a look at moral principles and uses characters and events to juxtapose different schools of thought. Ip Man’s calm demeanor is often contrasted with the rage and violence of characters around him. Always seeking for good, Ip Man is the white knight on who the entire community can depend. Very early on in the film, Ip man has a friendly, private duel with a Master of a neighboring school. The duel is accidentally seen by another man retrieving a kite from a tree who later tells the whole town and leads the embarrassed Master to demand satisfaction. Ip Man intervenes, is threatened by a police officer and effortlessly disarms him and treats him to dinner. In this sequence an unforgiving code of pride is extinguished as quickly as the the juxtaposed flagrant brandishing of firearms as a source of individual power is disarmed and kindness rushes to replace it. These juxtapositions happen throughout the film. The defection of a main character to Japan’s army stands contrasted with Ip Man’s patriotism and loyalty to the Chinese people.

Everybody is human and the actual Ip Man is no exception, however, I think the filmmakers chose to show him as in such an infallible light because that way he becomes a symbol of what the view should strive to be like. The filmmakers want to show that there are multiple ways of responding to situations but in every instance, there is an appropriate path and Ip Man is meant to teach the audience that path. He does this generally by example, but also through a few profound, thought provoking statements.

Ip Man’s message is one of tolerance, honor, integrity, and dedication. I found the morals the film presented engaging and compelling. I feel that our society cares less and less about those traits which were once deemed honorable; the development of which worthwhile. Now our moral compass doesn’t point north, its ability to direct our people eroding little by little. What once was north may now be south. What the Ip Man makes me feel is that there is still a reason to do good, that it does make a difference, even as the protagonist made a difference in his world by holding fast to those principles.

It was refreshing to see such a movie that was so morally compelling as well as highly entertaining. It seemed to never have a dull moment and helped me to see that the careful application of dedication to a cause will pay off in the end. I was actually quite surprised to see the Japanese in such a different light. As the main antagonist, Japan seems brutal, violent, and full of an over-zealous sense of conquest. This was very different than my views of the Japanese going into the movie. My wife and I had just finished watching The Last Samurai which shows the Japanese in a very different light. I think Ip Man helped to expand my perspective of the Japanese and Chinese cultures as well as their relationship. I know that both Ip Man and The Last Samurai have very embellished plots but the perspectives of those who made the films about that culture still shines through the work. The creators of Ip Man have a tainted view of the Japanese because of what they did at this time to their people. I think it is wise to consider this perspective and contemplate why it exists, because there must be a valid reason for presenting the Japanese with such cruelty.

Ip Man helped me see another culture in a whole new light. The majority of exposure to the chinese lifestyle came from my childhood visits to Chinatown and poorly dubbed kung-fu movies, creating in my mind an image of cheap products and a propensity for violence. Ip Man was made by filmmakers who have lived their lives in China and are able to tell a much more complete story than Shanghai Nights ever could. The filmmakers showed traditional Chinese architecture and dress. Little shops in crowded streets filled with people who know each other’s names. The speech of the people of Fo Shan was largely shown as very respectful, with a totally different sense of humor than what I’ve grown accustomed to. I could tell that some parts of the film were meant to be seen as funny, but I they just didn’t make me laugh.

I learned about the Sino-Japanese War, which started before and eventually merged with WWII and ended when Japan surrendered after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I’m actually a little ashamed I didn’t know anything about it before. I knew that the Japanese had invaded China, but I thought that was limited to post December 7, 1941 WWII Japanese conquest.

This film was definitely more artistic than the standard Hollywood summer blockbuster. As I watched the film I got the feeling the filmmakers poured their heart and souls into making this film come to life. It also differed in that despite being made fairly recently, Ip Man uses no computer graphics. Additionally, unlike other notable Chinese films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ip Man doesn’t use and wires for it’s combat sequences; instead it’s all expertly choreographed by Sammo Hung and brought to life by talented actors.

I noticed that in the beginning of the film the filmmakers chose to do most everything in brighter colors. After the Japanese army moves in the colors all change to well-lit but very under saturated tones. The music was also more typical of Asian countries with heavy falling drum beats with strong string accompaniment, leaving out the classic rock and roll style music found in many Hollywood pictures. It’s interesting as well that in many intense scenes instead of relying on the music to help the audience feel the importance of scene the filmmakers chose to let silence and solid acting performances do the work, and with much success, in my opinion.

One final but important thing I noticed about the film was that there was violence, yes, but not excessive violence coupled with sex. The film was devoid of anything scandalous and instead focused on the importance of relationships between friends and family, oftentimes dropping hints about the importance of caring for and spending adequate time with one’s family.

I would highly recommend Ip Man – it’s now at the top of my favorite foreign films list.