Ip Man--The Final Fight

In spite of the title, I felt the movie was character based--showing the individuals and their struggles--with Kung Fu as a thread that weaves the people and their stories together. The movie spans approximately 20 years and takes place in Hong Kong--so there are a lot of political and social issues that are covered from strikes to having to sell one's child to feed the rest of the family. There are gems of advice given in the film, for example when the Grandmaster says, "only brutes use force, wise men use virtue." That is sage advice from a man that invented Wing Chun, a specialized form of Kung Fu that made his pupil, Bryce Lee, famous.

The movie could be used in a history class to highlight the struggles of Hong Kong from the 1950's to approximately the 1970's. This movie could be used in a thematic unit of struggle and forming a familial unit with friends, and joining together to get through life's battles. (both literal and figurative). Master Ip's pupils form a family of sorts and we watch how they grow and change as they age. I think high school students would like it because there are enough fight sequences to keep their interest. While watching it I was wondering if I could show it to my ELD class--they would need to read the English subtitles to keep going.