Review for Young Bruce Lee

Introduction

I don't like Bruce Lee movies. There, I said it. I'm a heretic that ought to be burned at the stake. But that's okay, because Bruce Lee was one of those rare individuals whose life was far more influential than their day job. They were the true celebrities, people who were famous through sheer force of personality, whose very existence shaped the world in no small way. I don't have a library full of Marilyn Monroe movies, I don't own a single Elvis CD, but these people are interesting, and rather than sample their work, I just want to know more about them. After all, Bruce Lee was the first breakout Hong Kong movie star, and not only did he hit big in just a few territories, he hit big all over the world. Everyone wanted to see his movies; everyone wanted to be him. It's hard to imagine it now, but this was pre-Internet, pre-globalisation. In my primary school, may five or ten families were well off enough to own videos, and none of us were old enough to legally watch his movies anyway, but we all knew who Bruce Lee was.

A biopic isn't the most accurate way to learn about a person, but it is the most immediate, and potentially the most engaging. It's also useful for us time-starved modern urbanites to get a quick dose of history in the space of two hours. And now there is a Bruce Lee biopic to tell us about this remarkable man, or rather there are now two. You may feel that two film biographies about a person are overkill, but when there are surviving relatives of a subject, conflicting views, estates, and lawyers involved, then maybe two divergent views can help us find the truth within. Young Bruce Lee begins with a disclaimer disassociating it from Bruce Lee Enterprises, the widow and children of Bruce Lee, and his estate. Basically it's assuring is that it isn't Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Young Bruce Lee is based on the biography written by his younger brother Robert Lee, and the recollections of his siblings. And as the title suggests, it tells the story of his life prior to his departure for the United States.


Young Bruce Lee takes us from his birth in San Francisco in 1940, back to Hong Kong where he was raised in troubled times during the Japanese occupation. Fond memories of childhood, including his initial foray into Hong Kong cinema, give way to those formative events during his teenage years, those incidents that would shape his life, and put him on the road to global stardom.

Picture

Now that I'm venturing into the world of high definition, it's getting harder to sate my innate reviewer nit-pickiness. I noticed a few frames of moiré around the fine weave of a pin striped textile fabric and felt a glow of triumph. That's probably a sign that I really need to get a life.


Young Bruce Lee's 2.35:1 widescreen presentation on this Blu-ray is impeccable. It's crystal clear throughout, with strong consistent colours, and wonderful reproduction of period detail. The whole film has been colour-timed with a sepia glow to it, one that is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia and warmth. If you're going to have any major criticism, it will probably be with the exceptionally clean and clinical use of CGI. Hong Kong in the forties and fifties is unrecognisable in comparison to the Hong Kong of today, and there's no other way of recreating it other than CGI. The time and more importantly the budget to do it faithfully is probably beyond the reach of Hong Kong cinema.

Sound

You have a choice between DTS HD-MA 5.1 Cantonese, or a DD 2.0 stereo track in the same language. There are optional English subtitles if you so require. The dialogue is clear, the music works well, although there is a tendency to go with cover versions for the period music, which might cause a brief double take. The few moments of action do come across well and it's a nice, enveloping audio track. I did note a blip in the audio at 40:39 though. It was present in both the surround and the stereo track.

Extras

Cine Asia load up the disc with extras as usual, with the choicest of the lot another amazing Bey Logan commentary track. He is a Bruce Lee devotee and it shows, with a commentary that is rich in detail and content.

There are 12 deleted scenes on the disc, 17 minutes worth in total presented in HD, although the Original Trailer hints at more footage that isn't in the film on this disc. Looking at the good old IMDB reveals that this is the International Cut, and that the domestic release runs some 13 minutes longer.

The Production Diary Gallery comprises some 15 featurettes that look at all aspects of the making of the film. They range from a minute up to 8 minutes in length, and run to a total of 58 minutes in SD resolution. Unfortunately lacking from both these and the deleted scenes is a Play All option.

Memories of the Master is a 31 minute documentary looking at the life of Bruce Lee, with interviews with friends, biographers, and contemporaries.


An Intro to Cine Asia is a 23-minute promo reel for the work that Cine Asia does in bringing Far Eastern action cinema to the UK, and features input from several critics. Unfortunately this is in SD format, which is odd, as so far I've only seen this promo listed on Cine Asia Blu-rays.

The trailer gallery features the UK trailer and the original trailer for Young Bruce Lee.

There are 12 other Cine Asia films promoted under the Also Available menu option.

Conclusion

It's not a kung fu movie! Maybe I should have made that clear straight off the bat, but if you come to Young Bruce Lee expecting a wall-to-wall action-fest, you're going to be disappointed. Young Bruce Lee is a biography of course, the life of an individual, and if there is going to be any action, it's in the context of that life story. So there is action in Young Bruce Lee, but it isn't the point of the movie, and you're not going to get any satisfaction from seeing a hero kicking villainous behind. On the other hand, I'm not sure what satisfaction there is to be had from Young Bruce Lee at all. Biopics aren't easy to make interesting in the first place. Life has an annoying tendency to lack a coherent narrative, motivation, or emotional arc. It just happens randomly. The trick about film biographies is to pick and choose the moments to dramatise, and to create that narrative arc, a period of growth that at least gives the film a beginning, middle and end. That's not usually what you get between birth and age 19.

Young Bruce Lee has the benefit of avoiding any of that metaphysical digression that so suffused Dragon, but it does very much feel like a collection of home movies, especially in the first half of the film. Very few home movies are presented in widescreen with DTS sound though. Adapting the recollections of his family tends to avoid critical analysis, and really invites the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. Remember when Bruce's father drew a moustache on the baby, remember that time when Bruce was playing marbles and the other kids cheated, remember the time when Bruce and his brother won the cha-cha competition… These are all moments that are great family recollections; they're not exactly scintillating material for a film biography, although to the film's credit, it does make all these moments enjoyable to watch.


The second half of the film is more rewarding, especially as it focuses on Bruce Lee's teenage years, and you get some idea of the events and motivations that drove him to become a star. Aarif Rahman plays the adolescent Bruce Lee, an actor who bears only a little resemblance, but manages to capture enough of Bruce Lee's cinema persona (after all the audience doesn't know Bruce Lee the person), to give a rather uncanny portrayal. Certain poses, the way he glances, the way that he moves his body is chillingly like the Bruce Lee we saw in the movies, but he also manages to bring a warmth, and genuine humanity to the role, creating a person rather than a figure of reverence.

That for me is the best thing about the film, as while the character portrayal feels genuine, the film itself is far too reverential. It always shows Bruce Lee and his family in the best light, and every scene is tinged with warmth and nostalgia. It feels like a re-imagined past, a history remembered the way that you want it to be, rather than the way it actually was. I have the suspicion that everything in this film actually happened, just not in the way that it is portrayed here. With this film, the legend that is Bruce Lee remains sacrosanct. As long as you bear that in mind, it's an enjoyable 2 hours.