‘We’re Nothing At All’: why Hongkongers must avoid collective apathy

Through the invitation of a good friend, I had the privilege last Saturday of attending a charity movie screening held by SideBySide, a non-profit social service organisation.The film chosen for the event was We’re Nothing At All, a recently released social drama by veteran director and screenwriter Herman Yau Lai-to.While widely known for his more commercial titles, Yau is never afraid of tackling societal issues in his films.Local cinephiles will no doubt remember his previous works, such as The Untold Story (1993), Ebola Syndrome (1996), From the Queen to the Chief Executive (2001) and Whisper and Moans (2007), all of which centred on different trending social topics of their time.The story of his latest film opens with a tragic bus bombing in the middle of the city on Valentine’s Day, in which a double-decker explodes, taking the lives of many on board.A retired forensic expert, Lung (played by Patrick Tam Yiu-man), is asked to lead a police investigation into the deadly explosion. Assisted by a junior officer Raymond (played by Wong You-nam), Lung’s investigation reveals the backstories of two young men, Fai (played by Anson Kong Ip-sang, a member of boy band Mirror) and Ike (played by pop star Ansonbean), who face different struggles in life.