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- Dec 29, 2000
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I laughed so hard at this.
But I really loved the movie.
It's pure fiction, but I think its themes are pretty fascinating and make for a great adventure tale.
Wong Jack Man is the disgraced master seeking redemption. He represents tradition, the long standing way things have always been done and standing still because he's so self absorbed that he can't see how his stubbornness is his own greatest obstacle. He only looks back and can't see the future.
Bruce Lee is the rising young buck, the next generation and the one that will change the world because he's not afraid to embrace it. But, like Wong Jack Man, he's also self absorbed and hung up on his own hubris. He scoffs at tradition and only looks forward.
Neither one is really doing it right. Always moving forward but always respecting and honoring the past. That is the philosophy behind the film. During their duel, they teach each other about what it is they're lacking and how it is that they can attain it.
They were both afraid to fail. They were both afraid to be wrong. it was only when they overcame this and learned about it from one another were they both able to move forward in their pursuits. They both had inner rage and frustration, which made them imperfect. They needed each other to grow as people and they did it with a duel. Their lifes' pursuits coming into conflict with one another.
The film is called Birth of the Dragon and this means that Bruce Lee, as cool as he is in the film, is not yet the man he needs to become.
The white dude (I don't remember his name) represents the world and the way it sees kung fu. He can never be as good at fighting as the masters, but he can learn the same valuable lessons from them that they learn from each other. Admittedly, I feel as though this was a botched theme that could have been executed much better.
But man, I really loved this movie. Hardly historically accurate, but I don't think it was ever trying to be.
