BE WATER AND ENTER THE FAT DRAGON
On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee passed away in Hong Kong. On July 20, 2020, in honor of his life and his profound effect on my life, I watched director Bao Nguyen’s Be Water, an ESPN “30 for 30” film that covers his life, career and martial arts philosophy.
What separates Be Water from other Bruce Lee documentaries is the lack of narration. Instead, Nguyen provides insights via rarely seen videos and home movies; diary entries; letters to friends; and interviews with Lee’s students, a former girlfriend, his daughter Shannon Lee, his brother Robert Lee and his widow Linda Lee Caldwell.
reinforces the notion that Bruce’s existence was metaphysically and thematically shaped by water. When his parents married, his father, then called Moon Lee, changed his name to Lee Hoi-chuen. means “sea stream.”) Bruce was born during a freak hurricane-like storm that hit San Francisco. Later, as a lad who didn’t know how to swim, he had a friend teach him. After the trauma of nearly drowning, he never swam again.
