Typically,
practicing karate will get your butt kicked in a Hong Kong movie. That is
because it is Japanese. Japanese-Hong Konger Mari Hirakawa is keenly aware of
that fact. Hong Kong has been her only home, yet she remains highly insecure
about her otherness. It is one reason why she rebelled against the karate her
sensei father forced her to study, but miscommunication and family dysfunction
were even greater factors. After his passing, Hirakawa finally confronts his
legacy in Chapman To’s The Empty Hands (trailer here), which screens
during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival.
Since
two-thirds of their Hong Kong flat were devoted to her father’s dojo, Hirakawa
has always been forced to live with karate. HK real estate being what it is,
she continued to live there as an adult, despite her resentment of her father.
Things got particularly frosty when he made it clear he did not approve of her
relationship with a married DJ. Then he died. It was not Hirakawa who found her
father, but his loyal student and junior instructor, Mute Dog (so-called,
because he is mute).
Hirakawa
does indeed inherit the flat, but she does not have free and clear possession
of the title. Much to her surprise, the sensei left a 51% share to his former protégé
Chan Kent, an ex-con recently released from jail. When he takes over the dojo,
the neighborhood kids start flocking back. However, he offers her a deal. If
she can make it through three rounds of a local tournament without quitting or
getting knocked out, he will sign his stake in the flat over to her.
Unlike
Unbeatable, Empty Hands is sort of an anti-Rocky
movie the subverts all the big match clichés. Even in The Karate Kid, there were bright lights and large crowds of
spectators for the climatic fight scenes, but Hirakawa’s tournament takes place
in what looks like a converted office building, with only her bestie Peggy and
a bored old lady for an audience.
Previously
known for rom-coms, Stephy Tang pulled a Matthew McConaughey with Empty Hands, winning awards and
redefining herself as a thesp (she is also receiving the NYAFF’s Screen
International Rising Star Asia Award this year). It is an honest and brittle
performance that completely disregards any concern for cuteness or likability.
Frankly, it is often frustrating to watch her self-destructive, self-pitying
behavior, but she Tang gives it an element of existential defiance that is quite
striking.
Even
though Chapman To’s big breakout came in the Infernal Affairs films, he has mostly been doing light comedy in
recent years, so it is refreshing to see him play it straight and understated
as Chan Kent. Once again, Dada Chan brings a touching sweetness to Peggy, who
would be a real throwaway character if she were played by anyone else. However,
the real unsung hero is journeyman character actor Stephen Au, who is quite
memorable as Mute Dog, in ways both gritty and poignant.
