The Empty Hands Review 2017 Hong Kong 空手道

The Empty Hands 空手道
Year: 2017
Director: Chapman To
Writer: Chapman To, Erica Li
Cast: Stephy Tang, Chapman To, Yasuaki Kurata, Dada Chan, Juju Chan
Running Time: 87 minutes
Country: Hong Kong

Mari is a Hong Kong girl with a Japanese father, a karate instructor who turned their home into a dojo to train his pupils, forcing her to practice as a child. Despite demonstrating great skill, Mari quits after being pushed too hard, growing up to be a directionless and angry young woman drifting through life. After her father dies, Mari decides to sell the dojo, though her plans are ruined when it turns out that he has left a controlling 51% share to former pupil Chan Kent, recently released from prison. At odds with Mari over the fate of the dojo, Chan Kent offers her a deal – if she returns to training and can survive three rounds in an upcoming match, he promises to sign his share over to her. (Focus Hong Kong)

The Empty Hands is a difficult film to explain and truly do it justice. This is not a standard martial arts film. It's not even really a karate film. On one hand, it's an atmospheric arthouse character study that only uses karate as a way to connect and explore the characters. But on the other hand, the entire film works because it hinges on the meaning and discipline of karate. Similar to The Karate Kid and the popular Cobra Kai series, karate can be used as a form of motivation to improve your entire wellbeing. This is one of many ideas that this film explores.

Chapman To has always been a great comedic actor. His roles in films such as Vulgaria and Men Suddenly In Black are hilarious and that's what he has become known for. I don't think anyone was expecting him to write, direct and act in a film as complex and sophisticated as The Empty Hands. Chapman is a blackbelt in karate and has always wanted to make a film featuring this martial art. You can sense this is a passion project from him in every aspect.  

The main star Stephy Tang is outstanding in her role as Mari, she delivers a critically acclaimed, award-winning performance. Stephy trained in karate for six months and boxed 2 to 3 times a week to prepare for the role and it shows with her physicality and screen presence during the action. She is completely believable in the training and karate fights. But, Stephy also carries the emotional weight of the film. Her character has many layers and a lot of baggage. The relationship with her father is made heartbreaking at times by her excellent performance. For an actress that is known for starring in rom-com roles, she knocked this one out of the park.

There are some moments and tropes that you've come to expect from martial art films such as the training scenes. They feel extremely effective and realistic here, and they never quite verge into a full-blown Rocky montage. The fight scenes are not the main focus of the film, and they are not as flashy as Hong Kong's kung fu films, but they deliver something real. The fights are shot up-close and personal, but often the composition is artsy and unusual. It's an exciting mix of techniques. The sound design is also superb throughout and they succeed in making you feel every single hit.

The film is shot beautifully. There are stunning cinematography and subtle camera movements used to constantly keep the film moving and equally be visually pleasing. Some shots really stand out, such as gorgeous scenes of the actors performing karate katas in empty fields. The lighting style for some scenes might seem pretentious in another film, but it does not seem out of place here at all. 

The dramatic themes but down to earth storytelling, championed by Stephy's performance are executed so well, that by the time it gets to the finale, you are emotionally involved for every single beat. At a neat 87 minutes, the film is incredibly brisk and appealing. Chapman To does a fantastic job controlling the structure and pacing of the film, it's remarkable to think this is only his second time directing. Hopefully, we can see more films like this from director Chapman To, and more performance like this from Stephy Tang. Superb.

8.5/10

The Empty Hands is streaming as part of the Focus Hong Kong Film Festival from the 9th of February at 10:00 GMT until the 15th of February at 23:59 GMT.