Title : IP Man
Genres: Action, Martial Art/Foreign, Drama and Biopic
Release Date: 18 December 2008
Distributors: Mandarin Films Distribution Co. Ltd.
Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam
Directed by: Wilson Yip
Synopsis :
Ip Man is adapted from the life story of Ip Man, the grandmaster of the Wing Chun style of kung fu and sifu of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. This film is the first important record of the master's life.
In the 1930s, Foshan thrives as the hub of Chinese wushu, with various sects actively recruiting disciples. They often compete against each other to prove their strengths. While Ip Man is an accomplished martial artist, he is unassuming and keeps a low-profile, and doesn't run any martial arts school, nor accept students. He only stays at home, quietly sparring with his compatriots in friendly competitions, swapping pointers with each other.
One day, Ip Man (Donnie Yen) is challenged by Master Liao (Chen Zhi Hui), who just set up a wushu school, in a closed match. The brother of Ip's teahouse owner friend, Sha Da Yuan(Wong You-Nam), who witnessed the entire fight while trying to retrieve his kite from a tree on the side of Ip Man's house, tells everyone about Master Liao losing.
Seeing it as a public humiliation, Master Liao gets into disputes with Sha, and forces the local officer Inspector Li Zhao to arrive. He mocks them by stating that in their era, duels are meant to be fought with guns, but Ip Man proves him wrong by forcing the cylinder of his gun out with a single finger and manages to tame things down.
Henchmen of Jin Shan Zhao (Fan Siu-Wong) are going around challenging various wushu schools in Foshan. The teahouse owner and Martial Arts Zealot Lin (Xing Yu) informs Ip Man, who was however, unable to go out and aid the masters because he respected his wife, Wing Cheng (Lynn Hung), who dislikes her husband fighting. Eventually, Jin Shan Zhao finds Ip's residence and challenged him. Ip dispenses him with ease using four Wing Chun Forms: fist, footwork, blade and cudgel. Afterwards, the people of Foshan revered him greatly.
Following Japanese invasion in 1937, everyone's life is adversely affected. Ip's property is confiscated and his family is forced to live in a decrepit house. Being one with strong pride, Ip refuses charity from his wealthy friend Zhou Qing Quan (Simon Yam), owner of a cotton mill, opting instead to work as a coolie at a coal mine to sustain his family, which turns out to be the workplace for several former Wushu diciples and masters. At the mine, he reunites with Lin, who tells him that his brother Sha is missing.
Later, General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), together with his troops, arrives. As a fanatical practitioner in martial arts himself, he sets up an arena for the former Wushu fighters to fight against Japanese judo practitioners, offering rice as a reward. However, to another high-ranking Japanese officer Sato's (Shibuya Tenma) mind, they cannot afford to lose, they must preserve Japanese superiority and dignity. Li Zhao has become an interpretor for the Japanese.
Eagerly taking up the challenge, Lin makes use of the opportunity to demean the Japanese (loosing a small metal box at the same time, which he told Ip Man to find). Miura decided to fight himself, and demanded three of the Chinese to fight him, including Lin. The two other men declared defeat, but Lin continued fighting and was brutally beaten to death.
The following day, Ip Man notices Lin's absence, and decides to fight in the arena for rice. He witnesses the death of former Master Liao when officer Sato shoots him, due to the fact that he took the rice even after losing to three of the fighters. Li also tells Ip Man that his friend Lin is dead. Enraged, Ip Man demanded to be faced by 10 fighters, which he dispatches swiftly, much to the interest of General Miura.
Later, it is revealed that Jin Shan Zhao and his men are hijacking trucks and stealing their goods, and Sha has joined their ranks. They bully Zhou Qing Quan into giving them money, but since his goods could not be sold, they give him a short time to gain funds. Zhou's son quickly calls for Ip Man, and Zhou asks for Ip Man to teach them Wushu to protect themselves. Thanks to his teachings, the workers in the factory become fluent at Wushu.
At the coal mine, Miura notices that Ip Man has not turned up again, and calls for the troops to search for Ip Man. Sato and several other soldiers are sent to Ip Man's home, but Ip Man takes the entire squad down after Sato harasses her wife, Wing Chen. Li helps Ip Man's family relocate to a smaller house.
Jin Shan Zhao's men return to the Cotton mill, but thanks to Ip Man's teachings, the cotton workers were able to defend themselves from Jin's men. Ip Man arrives to assist them, and later single handedly defeats Jin Shan Zhao's men and Sha, muting Jin's right ear in the process. Before Sha could flee, Ip Man stops him and tells him that his brother is dead. He also gives him the Lin's metal box, which Ip Man found in the coal mine. Sha opens the box, and discovers that it contains the kite he retrieved from the tree on the day he witnessed Ip Man fighting with Master Liao, causing him to break into tears.
The Japanese troops search for Ip Man, and in the process, they raided the cotton factory. Ip Man himself turns up to protect them and arrests him, telling Li and Zhou Qing Quan to take his family out of Foshan. General Miura tells him that he plans to duel with him, and asks for him to teach the Japanese Wushu. Ip Man refuses, saying that he cannot fight after all the atocrities that the Japanese Army commited. Officer Kato threatened to Ip Man that if he wins the duel, he will shoot him dead, but Ip Man explains further that Wushu is based on Confucian Ideas, and he cannot teach the Japanese because they have abused their military power.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qing Quan takes Ip Man's family out of Foshan, but Wing Cheng cries in despair, fearing that this will be Ip Man's last match, causing Zhou Qing Quan to bring Ip Man's family back to Foshan to witness the match.
During Ip Man's match against General Miura, Ip Man beats up General Miura severely, winning the match, but he is shot by Officer Kato. The crowd is provoked, and they break past the Japanese guards to come to the wounded Ip Man's aid. Kato is killed when Li wrestles Kato over the gun. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Ip Man and his family fled to Hong Kong after the incident, and he set up a new Martial Arts school that teaches the art of Wing Chun (A Master who teach Bruce Lee).
In the 1930s, Foshan thrives as the hub of Chinese wushu, with various sects actively recruiting disciples. They often compete against each other to prove their strengths. While Ip Man is an accomplished martial artist, he is unassuming and keeps a low-profile, and doesn't run any martial arts school, nor accept students. He only stays at home, quietly sparring with his compatriots in friendly competitions, swapping pointers with each other.
One day, Ip Man (Donnie Yen) is challenged by Master Liao (Chen Zhi Hui), who just set up a wushu school, in a closed match. The brother of Ip's teahouse owner friend, Sha Da Yuan(Wong You-Nam), who witnessed the entire fight while trying to retrieve his kite from a tree on the side of Ip Man's house, tells everyone about Master Liao losing.
Seeing it as a public humiliation, Master Liao gets into disputes with Sha, and forces the local officer Inspector Li Zhao to arrive. He mocks them by stating that in their era, duels are meant to be fought with guns, but Ip Man proves him wrong by forcing the cylinder of his gun out with a single finger and manages to tame things down.
Henchmen of Jin Shan Zhao (Fan Siu-Wong) are going around challenging various wushu schools in Foshan. The teahouse owner and Martial Arts Zealot Lin (Xing Yu) informs Ip Man, who was however, unable to go out and aid the masters because he respected his wife, Wing Cheng (Lynn Hung), who dislikes her husband fighting. Eventually, Jin Shan Zhao finds Ip's residence and challenged him. Ip dispenses him with ease using four Wing Chun Forms: fist, footwork, blade and cudgel. Afterwards, the people of Foshan revered him greatly.
Following Japanese invasion in 1937, everyone's life is adversely affected. Ip's property is confiscated and his family is forced to live in a decrepit house. Being one with strong pride, Ip refuses charity from his wealthy friend Zhou Qing Quan (Simon Yam), owner of a cotton mill, opting instead to work as a coolie at a coal mine to sustain his family, which turns out to be the workplace for several former Wushu diciples and masters. At the mine, he reunites with Lin, who tells him that his brother Sha is missing.
Later, General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), together with his troops, arrives. As a fanatical practitioner in martial arts himself, he sets up an arena for the former Wushu fighters to fight against Japanese judo practitioners, offering rice as a reward. However, to another high-ranking Japanese officer Sato's (Shibuya Tenma) mind, they cannot afford to lose, they must preserve Japanese superiority and dignity. Li Zhao has become an interpretor for the Japanese.
Eagerly taking up the challenge, Lin makes use of the opportunity to demean the Japanese (loosing a small metal box at the same time, which he told Ip Man to find). Miura decided to fight himself, and demanded three of the Chinese to fight him, including Lin. The two other men declared defeat, but Lin continued fighting and was brutally beaten to death.
The following day, Ip Man notices Lin's absence, and decides to fight in the arena for rice. He witnesses the death of former Master Liao when officer Sato shoots him, due to the fact that he took the rice even after losing to three of the fighters. Li also tells Ip Man that his friend Lin is dead. Enraged, Ip Man demanded to be faced by 10 fighters, which he dispatches swiftly, much to the interest of General Miura.
Later, it is revealed that Jin Shan Zhao and his men are hijacking trucks and stealing their goods, and Sha has joined their ranks. They bully Zhou Qing Quan into giving them money, but since his goods could not be sold, they give him a short time to gain funds. Zhou's son quickly calls for Ip Man, and Zhou asks for Ip Man to teach them Wushu to protect themselves. Thanks to his teachings, the workers in the factory become fluent at Wushu.
At the coal mine, Miura notices that Ip Man has not turned up again, and calls for the troops to search for Ip Man. Sato and several other soldiers are sent to Ip Man's home, but Ip Man takes the entire squad down after Sato harasses her wife, Wing Chen. Li helps Ip Man's family relocate to a smaller house.
Jin Shan Zhao's men return to the Cotton mill, but thanks to Ip Man's teachings, the cotton workers were able to defend themselves from Jin's men. Ip Man arrives to assist them, and later single handedly defeats Jin Shan Zhao's men and Sha, muting Jin's right ear in the process. Before Sha could flee, Ip Man stops him and tells him that his brother is dead. He also gives him the Lin's metal box, which Ip Man found in the coal mine. Sha opens the box, and discovers that it contains the kite he retrieved from the tree on the day he witnessed Ip Man fighting with Master Liao, causing him to break into tears.
The Japanese troops search for Ip Man, and in the process, they raided the cotton factory. Ip Man himself turns up to protect them and arrests him, telling Li and Zhou Qing Quan to take his family out of Foshan. General Miura tells him that he plans to duel with him, and asks for him to teach the Japanese Wushu. Ip Man refuses, saying that he cannot fight after all the atocrities that the Japanese Army commited. Officer Kato threatened to Ip Man that if he wins the duel, he will shoot him dead, but Ip Man explains further that Wushu is based on Confucian Ideas, and he cannot teach the Japanese because they have abused their military power.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qing Quan takes Ip Man's family out of Foshan, but Wing Cheng cries in despair, fearing that this will be Ip Man's last match, causing Zhou Qing Quan to bring Ip Man's family back to Foshan to witness the match.
During Ip Man's match against General Miura, Ip Man beats up General Miura severely, winning the match, but he is shot by Officer Kato. The crowd is provoked, and they break past the Japanese guards to come to the wounded Ip Man's aid. Kato is killed when Li wrestles Kato over the gun. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Ip Man and his family fled to Hong Kong after the incident, and he set up a new Martial Arts school that teaches the art of Wing Chun (A Master who teach Bruce Lee).
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