The Legend Is Born: Ip Man

A martial arts film. The narrative begins in Foshan. Ip Man is sent to a school as a child and starts learning Wing Chun; his adoptive brother is with him and both study under the same master. When the master dies the training is left unfinished. Ip Man goes to Hong Kong to study and meets another master there; the form the man teaches is different from what he learned. From there the film follows a question: if the same art exists in two forms, which is correct. The young man tries to learn both, and that makes him a disputed name in his own school. The second line is politics. The years move on, the Japanese presence in the region grows, and the martial arts schools are drawn into it. The third line is family: Ip Man's marriage and the difference between him and his brother. It is a prequel about his youth, covering the period before the events of the better-known series. The fights are crowded and technical; the close-range work of Wing Chun is shown in detail. Dennis To plays the young Ip Man. Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung and Huang Yi are in the cast. At the end, Ip Man's real son Ip Chun appears briefly. Herman Yau directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes martial arts films and is curious about the history of Wing Chun. Who it is not for: anyone looking for historical accuracy; the narrative takes considerable liberties with the life.