WEEKEND WITHDRAWAL: The 'Ip Man' Tetralogy of Transcendent Kung Fu Flicks
Action Escapism Sublime To Distract From Our Possible Eclipse 'End Times'
“The world isn’t fair but moral standards apply to us all. The ruler isn’t always a superior person, and those ruled aren’t always inferior. The world doesn’t belong to the rich, or even the powerful, but to those of pure heart.” — 葉繼問, Ip Man 3
“Many friends of mine told me that only guys like a kung fu movie and the girls would be turned off — they want to see a love story. But Ip Man is a family man, so the women see this and say: 'I want my husband to be like this man. He'll be a scholar, he'll be fighting, he'll care for the family.' So we had a bigger audience.” — Donnie Yen
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As I mentioned last time, we’re going to be taking our foot off the gas for a bit, maybe a few days, maybe a week or month. ‘Tis tenuous times, effendi!
All my fave mystical pals and esoteric acquaintances — the great Christopher Knowles; a spooky yet adorable Catholic mom in rural Virginia who stepped away from her secret society bloodline but keeps a toe in the supernatural; two professional astrologers; an in-tune D.C. dad who was a child preacher but ejected when he realized he was being groomed for multiple unsavory spiritual and sexual purposes; plus (+?) a couple others — have all been pretty much on the same page for April, while I’ve been feeling astrologically apprehensive intrinsically, instinctively myself (how ‘bout you?). Culling from a trio of them, do with this information what thou wilt:
In the words of the estimable Mr. Knowles, from a recent video presentation — “This is ‘signs and wonders’ time. This is very heavy stuff. This would have ancient soothsayers hiding under their bed. And this is just the start of it. Not only do we have the ‘Great Eclipse’ happening, we are also in Mercury Retrograde. I am not pushing my luck, and I don’t think any of us should. This April, do not push your luck. Play it safe.”
In recent months, I’ve also been blessed(/cursed?) by unsolicited but welcome astrological insights to my specific situation. Slightly before April began, I got this from one of those star-readers: “Not only are we entering another bout of planet 'mercury retrograde' (i.e., all things 'communication' and related are in SNAFU....), the retrograde will be situated in ARIES — your own sign, if I'm not mistaken? [note: she’s not mistaken] — which may make things ever more complicated/obfuscated for you personally over the month of April. Just a heads-up, in case you weigh that stuff in at all, so be careful in April during all the impending further weirdness. Yeah, it's all moving to NEXT LEVEL now, and HOW..... I send you serious vibes for well-being, as ever…”
Since I’m a fan, or adherent, or puppet to, or something, of the Rule of Three, we’ll close with this third citation from another spiritually smart person I’ve respected for years and has been often alarmingly correct about things: “This is the real deal. The tl;dr is that it doesn't matter what you believe in, it doesn’t even much matter what you do at this point. You're a spectator. The powers that be are at war here in the material world and in the heavens as well. We are caught in the middle of it. We might see a prophecy fulfilled which will impact every Jew, Muslim and Christian. I advise taking a step back because there are forces in motion, literally in motion, in the skies, far beyond our capacity to control them.”
Okay, okay, I get it. Let’s talk about the movies some, then.
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Over the course of roughly a year my kid and I worked our way through the tetralogy of mostly excellent and hugely entertaining Ip Man biographical action films, narratively spanning 1935-1972 and starring the Hong Kong actor with a unique set of skills Donnie Yen. He plays the real-life titular Chinese Kung Fu Master of the martial art Wing Chun, and stoic teacher of legendary martial artist and tragic action Movie Star Bruce Lee.
All four of the films share a pedigree: Directed by Wilson Yip, written by Edmond Wong and produced by Raymond Wong. This consistent creative team grants an admirable creative through-line, even as each movie is quite different from the others' tonality.
The eponymous first film is the most realistic and sober, set during the Japanese occupation of South China in the 1930s. The young Ip Man — whose real name was Yip Kai Man — finds love, gets married, has a kid, tries to stay out of the intra-Asian fray but ultimately and reluctantly stirs revolution vs. the occupiers, before being forced to flee to free(-ish) Hong Kong. The fight scenes and drama in the first film are the most true-to-life and human, and the original 2008 IP Man is as much historical drama as it is Kung Fu movie. It was nominated for 12 Hong Kong Film Awards, ultimately winning both Best Film and Best Action Choreography. It’s available at a slew of streaming spots.
Released two years later, Ip Man 2 is maybe the best and definitely my favorite, with a bigger budget, fantastic period setting in 1940s-50s Hong Kong, and tons of martial arts, more than the first film, with Ip Man trying to set up a school for Kung Fu in Hong Kong and being challenged by other martial artists who don’t want the competition. To my tastes, 2010’s Ip Man 2 has the perfect balance of historical drama and kickass fighting; I could probably watch this movie 10 times in 10 days. (see it here)
2015’s Ip Man 3 is kinda over the top, nearing James Bond territory, but still a helluva lot of fun. Bruce Lee finally shows up in the story, as a student. The movie co-stars Mike Tyson(!) as a retired boxer turned Hong Kong corporate real estate gangster (and loving father) who has a moral code of honor; the film’s exhilarating high point is a brutal 3-minute fight between the kung fu artist and locomotive Iron Mike, a winner-take-all affair over who gets to keep the land where Ip Man’s martial arts school sits. Ip Man also learns to dance, has a claustrophobic fight in a tiny elevator, and the climatic hand-to-hand combat with a competing Master is an “OK, this obviously didn’t really happen but who cares” choreographed masterpiece. (watch it)
Ip Man 4: The Finalé, released in 2019, is set mostly in the United States in the mid-1960s. Bruce Lee is just becoming renown as a martial artist and Ip Man comes stateside to watch him compete and maybe get his own son into a prestigious USA school. But there’s White Supremacists everywhere —Everywhere! From the martial arts world to high school cheerleading teams to the racist Feds (and their wives!) in INS to the U.S. Marines — and Ip Man and his legendary student must face down bad White guy after bad White guy, climaxing in an admittedly thrilling and savage fight-to-unconsciousness with a Marines Gunnery Sgt. who is a black belt in karate. This movie is the only one of the four that feels like overt propaganda but it’s also kind of a predictable bore, with a lot of bad & hammy performances from the White villains and a story that does everything you expect. But Donnie Yen remains dignified & deserving of respect, and the fight scenes are still top notch. (watch here)
The first three movies are all exciting and fantastic family entertainment, worth considering during a gathering when there may be a wide range of personalities and ages assembled together (and who aren't too young or dumb to read subtitles). Ip Man is a kind, smart, disciplined, thoughtful, classic adult male heroic figure who treasures his family and consistently displays the benefit of hard work and personal integrity. He also kicks major ass in often jaw-dropping ways. But the violence in these movies is never gory or gratuitous, while the devotion to the beauty and grace possessed by a gifted and well-trained martial artist is extolled and depicted as a type of transcendent form of human expression in unique athleticism with a spiritual bent.
There is also a spin-off film, 2018’s “Master Z: Ip Man Legacy,” written and produced again by the Wongs but directed by Yuen Woo-ping. It follows the further challenges of the martial arts Master defeated by Ip Man at the end of Ip Man 3, who, after his humiliation, quits martial arts and opens a grocery store. Fates intervene and he gets on the wrong side of opium dealers. Much entertaining kick-assery ensues, including a jaw-dropping fight on the side of a series of building, with leaps from movie theater signs to storefront windows to rooftops and beyond. It’s a ton of fun, worth seeing for sure, like all these movies, and it’s better than the last one which is only halfway fun. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Tom. Never bothered with IP Man stuff before. But I always value a well argued suggestion.
It’s a tough call whether to muster my strength and be a force against evil…or, simply be a spectator in this round. We can at least be warning friends and foes to really get it together right now. I don’t know how you can prepare for practically anything (because anything can happen at this point), but I’d say having extra food and water might be a good bet, a water filtration system a good investment, and some good seeds stored in a dry place. Have a stack of books, a gun, lamps, a generator and a nice chat with your neighbors about community.
I’ve been doing research on why so many Jews didn’t leave or escape before things got rough in WWll, and there are many reasons. One of the most interesting was the inability of many to believe that their fellow man was capable of inherent and profound evil.
That same mindset is alive and well today. Nobody I know wants to hear it. But I tell them anyway.