Venerable Bodhidharma lived during the 5th or 6th century CE and traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China. Chan is also what we know as Zen.
Venerable Bodhidharma is regarded as the first Chinese patriarch. In the movie, Venerable Bodhidharma said that there is no need to pass the robe beyond the Sixth patriarch. Accordingly, Dharma was transmitted from mind to mind, whereas the robe was passed down physically from one patriarch to the next. Beyond the Sixth patriarch, Chan or Zen Buddhism would be widely spread, though the number of true practitioners will be few. Watch from 1:25:52 onwards to get this part.