So, Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen, successfully grabbed the brakes. After ten years of preparation for the Wong Kar Wai version, it was released with lightning speed. The important thing is that Wang Sheng also praised Ye Weixin's works after watching it in the name of the company. Because Wang Sheng said it well, I also watched this Hong Kong-produced film before 2009.
To be honest, after watching "Mei Lanfang", I once doubted the ability of Chinese directors to regulate biographical films. As the old saying goes, the only outstanding Chinese biopic in my personal impression is the unique "Ruan Lingyu". I don't know if Maggie Cheung made "Ruan Lingyu" or "Ruan Lingyu" made the impeccable Maggie Cheung. Originally, I thought that the film starring Donnie Yen must be a kung fu film from beginning to end, but unexpectedly saw the generosity of "Huo Yuanjia" (although I personally think that "Huo Yuanjia" can only be said to be a better quality film. , not enough for a classic movie).
Mei Lanfang's failure lies in the scattered stories and inappropriate characterizations, especially the lack of details. And Ye Wen, which also crossed the main stage of the Anti-Japanese War, made people see Ye Wen's mastery of not fighting for fame and fortune, as well as his deep national self-esteem.
At the beginning of the story, a martial artist came to ask Ye Wen to learn martial arts. Ye Wen originally wanted to push back on the grounds of eating, but the other party insisted on waiting for Ye Wen to discuss behind closed doors after dinner. The hurriedness of this half-bucket of water martial artist and Ye Wen on the same stage just showed his stubborn character. Before the competition, he thought that Ye Wen was afraid of losing, and proposed to learn from behind closed doors. Afterwards, he blushed and asked Ye Wen to keep the secret of his defeat. After people find out, they pretend to be righteous and seek justice. Contrary to this person, Ye Wen acted in a low-key manner and cared for the overall situation. He did not accept apprentices, and did not compete with others easily. Later, he saw the martial artist he knew was shot and killed himself, but he knew how to stand up. He is not afraid of power, and he is calm in the face of frivolous policemen, not to mention the threats of Japanese adjutants. It is rare for a martial artist to treat his wife with respect. This is the degree of a master. Those who have practiced one trick and a half-style kicking around the gym, think that they can open a gym and teach apprentices, and borrow a few three-legged cat kung fu to grab a gun and loot, but they are all reckless warriors. Like those Japanese invaders, they think they can solve the problem by force. . Those who practice martial arts not only have to be extraordinary, but also have to practice measure and aura in order to reach a higher level. The Japanese general Hiroshi Ikei understands its meaning better than the other martial artists in the film except Ip Man.
In the days of the Occupation, Ip Man did not have the good luck of Mei Lanfang, but had the concession as the backing. From this point of view, Ip Man is closer to ordinary people than Mei Lanfang. Born like a young master, he was reduced to working as a coolie in the mining area in exchange for half meals for his family. This is also Ye Wen's measure. On the Japanese training ground, Ye Wen defeated a group of Japanese but refused to receive the victory rice provided by the Japanese, which is his national dignity. Ye Wen never thought about failure, he was always the only winner. The confident General Miura is actually a person worthy of admiration. Being knocked to the ground by Ye Wen, he did not beg for mercy, nor did he use the powerful force behind him to support him. This is the Japanese samurai festival, which is different from the "benevolence" of Chinese martial arts, but it is another profound philosophy of martial arts.
In terms of words, Ip Man is really good. In the occupied area, Ye Wen was able to defeat a Japanese, but he could not prevent his own country from falling. This is the sadness of his martial arts practitioners. This is a little short of the film. But compared with the ending of Ye Wen's escape to Hong Kong, it is almost negligible. In the occupied area, how did Ip Man escape the siege of the Japanese army? The film is briefly mentioned, and the fate of Li Zhao and General Miura is not described. Although this is a biographical film of Ye Wen, it is too hasty to deal with it as usual.
Hong Kong films are subject to the co-production censorship system, which is actually a little more beneficial. That is, there is no "Flying Paper Boy". Although the Hong Kong-made films in recent years have been mixed, the quality of the script has undoubtedly improved, because there is less randomness in creation. It seems that the Radio, Film and Television Bureau is not doing all the bad things.
The script is great, but the actors aren't top notch. This is also the reason why "Ip Man" is difficult to become a classic. It is not denied that Donnie Yen has restrained a lot, but he can only have two expressions forever. One is with a smile on his face, and the other is the seriousness with which the smile is put away during the competition. Although Jet Li's acting skills are not outstanding, in "Once Upon a Time" and "Huo Yuanjia", you can see that he has relatively rich facial expressions and a certain degree of inner struggle. I'm sorry, Donnie Yen has almost no such change in interpretation. Many public opinions say that Li Zhao, played by Lin Jiadong, is the best role he plays. In fact, I personally think Bozhi Chi Nei's performance is more pleasing. When Chi Nei Bozhi appeared, he had the courage of a general, which formed a good contrast with Donnie Yen's Ye Wen's calmness. Ye Wen's wife Zhao Yongcheng, who does not occupy much of the drama, is also remarkable as Xiong Dailin's debut. I think she has big eyes but no spirit, but we can't ask a professional model to have Maggie Cheung's acting skills, right? What's more, Xiong Dailin is much better than Lin Chiling, who was also a model at the same time, in "Red Cliff". If Lin Zhiling is nominated for the Newcomer Award at the Academy Awards next year, and Xiong Dailin misses it, then I will despise the Academy Awards even more (personally, Xiong Dailin and Meng Jiahui are somewhat similar, I think back then, I was fascinated by "Dark War" Meng Jiahui's).
Ye Weixin is actually a talented person. Following Donnie Yen to fight the world, he said in an interview a few days ago that he hopes to make some successful commercial films in the past few years, and then wait for the opportunity to challenge his boss to make the film he wants to make. This is just like Chen Kexin in those days, in order to prepare the funds for "Sweet Honey", he promised the boss to open "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2". I don't know if "Ip Man 2" has this effect. In "Ip Man", Yip Weixin has a little shadow of being promoted to the first-line director, but what the result is, we have to watch "Ip Man 2" next Christmas.
In addition, Chen Guo's "October Siege" was forced to be cut in half because of the death of the boss, and the scene of "October Siege" is very similar to the scene in "Ip Man" where Foshan fell after the break. It is said that Chen Guo set up the set and the accident happened. I don't know if what he wanted to shoot was a masterpiece in "Ip Man".
Finally, what I have to say is that many netizens' reactions after watching Ye Wen were "you should beat the Japanese so hard", "It's worth it to spend money to watch the Japanese get beaten up!" Such a psychological individual considered extremely unhealthy. Zhang Ziyi just played "Memoirs of a Geisha" and was scolded by the people, while Hiroyuki Ikeuchi and a group of Japanese actors were beaten in "Ip Man", but they were not scolded by the Japanese as traitors. So, Chinese people, please correct your mentality. Think of the magnanimity of Confucianism!
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