An Unusually Gentle Martial Arts Movie

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2011)

This is a rare genre movie with seemingly realistic fighting scenes with elegant, efficient short moves, and no inhuman acrobatics. From the very first moment you realize that this movie doesn't center on it's genre, it has many fighting scenes, but it's not focused on the sensation. And that is a fresh approach that makes it memorable.
Additionally you have believable, sympathetic actors, not completely one-dimensional enemies (ok, one and a half dimensional), a bit of humor, simple but effective dialogs, heartwarming atmosphere and a perfect cinematography. Donnie Yen plays this man very calm and serious, with a good little sense for Chinese humor.
The movie is made with a caring sympathy for people and the Chinese way of life, it takes its time to show us a society on a village level with no big conflicts before the Japanese invasion. That is the reason why I can't give it a higher rating, even if I would - Yip Man's life and the life of his family and his neighbors is a bit too happy, not complete believable, it seems to be washed or beautified, so that western watchers can enjoy it. I could even suspect that it's fantasy, If I want - which I don't, because it's a fictional movie on a Hollywood level, not a biopic, although Yip Man is a historical person. At least I don't forget that before the Japanese occupation China was at civil war (from 1930 on), so life there shouldn't have been that easy.
Yip Man himself seems to be rich, he owns a big house and doesn't need to work. For such a man, he is surprisingly unpretentious, which may come from the influence of the philosophy-driven martial arts he loves.
There are some clichÃ©s which can't be avoided looking back in history of the Japanese/Chinese war, but at least to show the Japanese General as a man of honor (in opposite to his lower staff) seems to be halfway realistic (If a real general would be mounted as governor of such a small town is another question).
Anyone who sees a propagandistic approach should read some statistics and proved stories about the time of Japanese occupation, before judging. I think, the way the Japanese are depicted here is rather softened. Japanese saw Chinese as lower people, not as humans on the same level. They were in some ways not far from German ideas of that time.
A little setback is the ending, which comes too fast and unexpected, after the movie took so much time (in a good way) to invite us into its world. I would have been also interested to learn about the General's fate. At least 10 or 15 minutes watching Yip Man recovering, maybe watching the General committing Sepukku, would not have harmed the chance for a sequel, and everyone would have seen the credits more satisfied, and would be more sure that this is the best Martial Art's movies ever.
Still, one of the best - when not the best - movies in this genre I've ever seen.