Be Water

The 2020 documentary "Be Water" delves into the life and philosophy of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, exploring his journey from a young boy in Hong Kong to a global icon who revolutionized cinema and martial arts.

The film highlights Lee's unwavering pursuit of self-improvement, his constant questioning of traditional martial arts, and his development of Jeet Kune Do, a philosophy of self-expression and adaptability. Through archival footage, interviews with family members, and insights from experts, "Be Water" paints a portrait of Lee as a complex individual who challenged societal norms and embraced constant evolution.

The documentary emphasizes Lee's philosophy of "be water," a concept drawn from Taoism that emphasizes formlessness, adaptability, and the ability to flow with change. This philosophy resonated with Lee's martial arts approach, where he sought to overcome opponents not through brute force, but through fluidity, speed, and understanding of their movements.

"Be Water" also explores Lee's struggles with racism and discrimination in Hollywood, where he faced limitations and stereotypes. Despite these challenges, Lee persevered, using his platform to advocate for diversity and representation.

The film serves as a reminder of Lee's enduring legacy as an artist, philosopher, and cultural icon. His philosophy of "be water" continues to inspire individuals across various fields, encouraging them to embrace change, break free from limitations, and express themselves authentically.

A good documentary dealing with Bruce Lee existence and mainly told by his wife Linda Lee Cadwell . Narrating his difficult beginings as a hard-working young and then being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee goes back to Hong Kong where is hired by Raymond Chow to complete four films for a powerful Chinese production : Golden Harvest Company . Charting his fights in two worlds, Be Water explores questions of mixed identity , both , Chinese and American ; carrying out a deep investigations through private archive , intimate interviews, and his own writings.

As it tells as Lee was born Lee Jun Fan November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. A young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) . Furthermore, he worked in a close relative's restaurant. He eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington, where he enrolled at university to study philosophy and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. Lee became associated with many key martial arts figures in the United States, including kenpo karate expert , tae kwon do , Karate and Kung Fu . Introduced to television by producer William Dozier, based on the runaway success of Batman (1966), Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character the Green Hornet to television and was on the lookout for an East Asian actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, Kato. Around this time Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood where trained some Hollywood stars , including to celebrities as Steve McQueen and James Coburn as well as screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. .Bruce's screen test was successful, and Green Hornet (1966) starring Van Williams aired in 1966-1967 with mixed success. His dedication was such that he insisted his character behave like a perfect bodyguard, keeping his eyes on whoever might be a threat to his employer except when the script made this impossible. Another film opportunity then came his way as he landed the small role of a stand over man named Winslow Wong who intimidates private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Subsequently, he developed the series 'Kung Fu' for Warner Brothers , though he was turned down for the lead at the last moment and replaced by David Carradine . With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the television series Longstreet (1971). His minor hit in Hollywood led Bruce to return for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Chow who had recently started Golden Harvest productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in Big Boss (1971). In it, Lee plays a distant cousin coming to join relatives working at an ice house, where murder, corruption, and drug-running lead to his character's adventures and display of Kung-Fu expertise. The film shot in Thailand on a very short budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However, when it opened in Hong Kong the film was an enormous hit. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee and quickly assembled another script entitled Fist of Fury (1972). ¨Fist of Fury¨ was previously realized to his American box office ¨Enter the dragon¨. This one was made later but released before ¨Lee's Return of dragon¨ with Chuck Norris as contender , and Lee had formerly starred ¨The big boss¨. Being his greatest success the Kung-Fu actioner : ¨Enter the dragon¨ is his last complete movie character but his next film ¨ Game of death¨ was absurdly edited after his death . Bruce Lee enthusiasts all around the world were still hungry for more Bruce movies and thus remaining footage -completed before his death of Lee fighting several opponents including Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a lookalike and shadowy camera work to be replaced for the real Lee in numerous scenes. These films packed exciting and rousing struggles violent with impressive combat sequences including Karate , Judo, Tae Kwon do , Hapkido and Wushu . And most of them directed by Lo Wei and Robert Clouse .

Be Water (2020) including appearance of some famous actors , such as Steve McQueen , James Coburn , Nancy Kwan , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a freak accident on the set of The Raven (1994) . This decent documentary being competently made by Bao Nguyen.

I would not call director Bao Nguyen's film style as being artistically styled for the viewers pleasure but a film that delivers the essence of who action film and TV star Bruce Lee was to countless countries fans who relished in waiting for another Bruce Lee film to be released. Bruce Lee was not treated properly by the United States film and television industry and so they (the U.S. film producers) missed a golden opportunity to lock him up to a long term ten (10) year film contract. Instead Bruce Lee headed back to Hong Kong to fulfill his vision of what a Bruce Lee action film should look like as a finished product.

Triva: I was not aware that it was Bruce Lee who pitched the idea for a television series about a travelling nomad warrior and philosopher to the U.S.A. producers only to have his idea turned down and handed over to American actor David Carradine and turned into ABC's hit TV series Kung Fu (1972-1975). What a real shame! I can only imagine how Bruce Lee would have made this TV series ten (10) times better, but ignorance in Hollywood is once again bliss eh?

This documentary is narrated by Bruce Lee's immediate family and close friends as well as interspersed with various formal and candid interviews with Bruce Lee. It is well worth the watch and available in ESPN's 30 For 30 series.

I give this documentary a credible 8 out of 10 IMDB rating.

Needs to be watched by fans and non fans. Great documentary. Clearly the the fascist / nationalist have been offended by the documentary and they are in denial of the racism and political issues of the USA during the 60s and the 70s era. If the documentary had praised USA giving reason how great USA was in that era, the reviews would have been a lot different.

The best part of this documentary is that Bruce Lee is almost always on screen. We saw so little of him because of his early demise. 30 for 30 does it again with this gem. It is chronologically presented and very in-depth. Highly recommended.