For over 40 years, Herman Yau has directed a wide range of films, from low-budget films to Category III genre works such as The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome, as well as Hong Kong–China co-production action films like Customs Frontline and Moscow Mission. In his latest feature, he works alongside actors Patrick Tam—known for his roles in the Breakout Brothers series, Raging Fire, and Ip Man—and Ansonbean, who starred in The Lyricist Wannabe and Good Game. We’re Nothing at All is a dark drama that tackles social injustices through the lens of an investigation into a bus explosion.
In this exclusive interview, our writer Robert Ewing spoke with Herman Yau, Patrick Tam, and Ansonbean about We’re Nothing at All. They discussed the intentions behind making a dark drama, whether love can stop dark mental spirals, what it means to do better for society, and what they hope audiences take away from the film.
Thank you to Ventris Ma for interpreting the interview.
TPM: Just to start with, thank you so much for speaking to me. It’s an absolute pleasure, and congratulations on the movie. It is absolutely incredible. I had an amazing time watching it, even though it’s very depressing. I found it very moving, but to start with, I’m going to start with Herman. In Hong Kong, We’re Nothing at All was rated Category III, which Western film goers often associate with boundary-pushing genre films, like your previous films of yours. So, I wanted to ask whether, when writing the film, did you always know you wanted to create a dark human drama, or was it during production that you realised achieving your vision required a bolder approach to storytelling?
Herman Yau: So, from the beginning of this movie, when I was writing the script, I just let it go. What I mean by letting it go is that I don’t mind this movie will finally be a Category III movie, so I don’t have this kind of limitation during the script process.
So, basically, you just wanted to make the movie that you wanted to make, essentially?
Herman Yau: Of course, even if it’s a Category III movie, there’s still some boundaries, because for some of my works before, like The Untold Story or Ebola Syndrome, in Hong Kong, they are Category III movies, but like The Untold Story, as far as I can remember, about three minutes of the footage was cut out from the original version, but when we are talking about We’re Nothing at All, it passed the Hong Kong censorship with a Category III, without any request of cutting out.
So, in kind of continuing on, because I think there’s an interesting idea about the Western perspective of your work, and especially with your most recent work. A lot of the stuff that has been exported to the UK and beyond has primarily been action-focused. So, I wanted to ask, despite this being drastically different in content compared to your action films. What did you learn from those projects that you were able to apply to We’re Nothing at All, and conversely, what did you learn from this project that you’re able to take into future works?
Herman Yau: In fact, it’s hard to say what I learned from my previous works, because before my previous works, like those action movies. I’ve been in the film industry for 40 years, and I began my career with mostly low-budget movies, and at that time, most of them were not action movies. So, I won’t say that I learned anything from my previous action movies, so I think, just like after the release of We’re Nothing at All, most of the audience and some film critics, they would describe this movie as a comeback of Herman Yau. So of course, I think after so many years, my execution, or my thought, or the approach to create something, I think they’re more or less something different from me many years ago. So, I think I learned about filmmaking throughout the process that I was in the career. So, I won’t say that those movies, in the past maybe seven or eight years, those action movies, that I can get away from that experience. I don’t feel something like that. I think it’s a gradual change, or a gradual, I hope it’s kind of an advancement, no matter on the creative aspect or the technical aspect.
Moving on to Patrick, your character parallels Ike and Fai, but thanks to the support of his wife, he avoids a similar fate. So, I wanted to ask, do you think love and support can help prevent the kind of dark spiral people experience, or is there a deeper meaning to his wife’s love that stops him from falling through on his darkest thoughts?
Patrick Tam: Of course, love and support can also have a negative side. Sometimes love can become overindulgence, or love can be misplaced, and that can also lead to tragedy. But with this particular case, what I understood from the relationship between Lung Sir and his wife is that Lung Sir himself is pansexual, but of course, his wife didn’t know. Why didn’t she know? The script never really mentions or depicts that part of their backstory. But when I tried to interpret it for myself, I believe my understanding was the same as Lung Sir’s wife’s perspective. They’ve experienced a long period of love together. They truly love and support one another, and because of that, when Ah Lai eventually discovers that he is pansexual, she is still able to accept the person beside her. That’s because she cannot bear to let go of the love they spent so many years building together. I think this is also similar to my own real-life experience, to the kind of love I’ve built with my own wife. I believe there is no such thing as a “perfect match” in this world. A relationship always requires genuine effort and commitment. That applies to married couples, too. So, I think in the end, under his wife’s guidance and persuasion, of course, he has to listen to his wife. Sacrifice kind of love.
I think your character perfectly shows that. Another thing that is interesting about your character is that we enter the bus explosion through your character’s eyes. When you get to the site of the explosion, it’s genuinely horrifying. Even with all the bodies and the actual bus itself. Even though it’s a set and it’s inherently artificial, what emotions did you experience when seeing the practical sets and the corpses? And were you able to channel those feelings into your performance?
Patrick Tam: First of all, when I saw the set of the bombed bus scene, along with all the bodies, I found it deeply shocking. I had never imagined a situation like that before. It wasn’t exaggerated or stylised — there was neither too much nor too little. The design of the scene itself was extremely powerful. It put my whole body and mind into a very alert state, and entering this particular scene, which was also one of the scenes I spent the most time filming, my first feeling was sadness. Because after a tragedy, when so many innocent people on the bus were hurt, I realised that when we normally watch the news, we may not truly feel that kind of pain. But this set and environment helped me immerse myself into the scene emotionally.
The bus is striking, but to kind of carry on with you, Anson, Ike is a fascinating character as he’s ostracised by his parents, yet his sister secretly supports him in the film. Despite that, she’s still kind of caught in the initial explosion. So I wanted to ask, where do you think your character sees his sister as part of the systemic problem faced by many people in the LGBTQ+ community? Where someone may privately be supportive, but unwilling to be an ally when it matters most.
Ansonbean: I think from my character, Ike’s perspective, he wouldn’t blame his sister, because at the end, I still gave the 12k Hong Kong dollars to her and gave all of my savings to her. So deep down, I love her. But from my perspective, like Anson analysing this script and the scenario that happened, I’d say the sister could have done more, but I also understand why she couldn’t. Because at that time, she was preparing for her wedding. You know, during that fight with my parents, she actually stood up and said, ” Are you f***ing crazy?” You know, like she stood up for me. So, I think she did her part, but if she knew what’s going to happen, she could have done more. If she could step back and look at the whole thing, or she knew all these things happening would push me to the point where I’m going to blow up the bus, she might actually throw everything away. She’ll stop preparing for a wedding, and actually, she might call me more. She might ask me out and like talk about it. Then this event might not have happened. So, I’d say it’s a pretty good example of showing that sometimes we think certain things matter but deep down, whenever someone’s in need, whenever you see someone next to you, they’re like stressed out, they’re going through a breakdown, you could actually go and save a life or even save yours or save a lot of other people’s lives as well. So I think it’s really good writing, and yes, she could have done more, and it’s a good lesson for us.
Yeah, and just to kind of add on, you bring up the scene with the fight with your parents. How was that to film? Because that must be like quite an intense scene, because the emotions are quite heightened and especially like recreating a moment that many people might have experienced in their own lives. Is that like challenging to make sure that it’s authentic?
Ansonbean: That scene’s certainly challenging, but I’m happy that it took shorter than expected. All thanks to Director Herman’s guidance and all the actors and actresses who took part in it. I feel like that scene should be; it’s probably going to be very relatable to a lot of people, and for people not from the LGBTQ+ community, a lot of times we live under the shadows of our parents. Sometimes you want to live lives that we want to live, but then we’ve got to have this fight. We’ve got to fight for ourselves, and I feel like that scene’s perfect; it shows that part perfectly.
And in carrying on, this is a drastically different film from your previous project. Like UK audiences, if they’ve seen it, will probably know you from The Lyricist Wannabe. So, I wanted to ask, what about this project appealed to you? And were you nervous about starring in a film that is this thematically bold?
Ansonbean: Well, back then, when I first saw the script, when I first read it, I was taking a break because I was going through some tough times in my life as well. So, when I first saw it, and I saw as director Herman’s work, I’m like already excited, but when I was reading through it, it got me like crying a lot. I teared up a lot throughout the whole script because a lot of bits are relatable, and I just felt like, at that time, I sort of lost hope in life. But now, you know, this script made me feel less alone because I feel so empowered by it. We could have all this negativity and all this hatred going on in this world, but this script just I feel like this movie is going to tell a lot of people to care more, love more, and have more empathy, and the message behind it is very, very strong. So, at that moment, I don’t care about, you know, the boundaries or being nervous anymore. The main thing I was nervous about was that I was not being able to deliver the role because my acting experience is not as great. I feel like I’m still there’s still a lot of room for improvement. But yeah, that’s what I feel like is a really strong awakening for me. When the purpose and the meaning of the work the artwork is strong enough, it can empower you to do whatever you want and empower you to make yourself stronger to deliver the artwork. I really got to thank director Herman for this opportunity. I got to thank the script. I’d say it really saved my life in some type of way.
That’s kind of awesome to hear because you are excellent in the film. So, congratulations on that, and to kind of get all your input on my final question, or so. There’s a prominent quote in the marketing and in the film, and the quote is “In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.” It’s a very powerful line in the film representing the social injustice, the mistreatment and the systemic failure that ultimately led to the explosion. So, with that in mind, I wanted to ask where you hope audiences will be self-reflective and do a better job of addressing these snowflakes, the injustices in their day-to-day lives?
Ansonbean: Yeah, I feel like every single action we do, every single word we say, does have an effect on people around us or even the world around us. So the main takeaway is really to have hope, stay hopeful and believe that each one of us, every single one of us have the power to make the world a better place, and then at the end, we’ll be able to live in a better environment that’s like, you know, better. Everyone can live with less judgment. Everyone can enjoy their own lives better by doing what they want. Yeah, the main message is that.
Herman and Patrick, do you have anything to add to that?
Patrick Tam: I think this movie is so sexy. Yeah, so attractive. So down to earth, and we need this movie. Yeah, and the whole world needs this kind of movie because this is one of the most basic parts of human nature. Starting from caring about people from a marginalised group, and developing that into a film that can engage society as a whole, and make people care about these subjects.
Herman Yau: And I think that I hope after watching this movie audience, they can think about don’t think any tragedy is none of your business, and sometimes being a bystander and keeping silence and just treat yourself as an audience. Is in fact, it actually helps evil things to happen.
And kind of just to wrap up, I got one quick question. You know, this is a very dark and at times uncomfortable movie, but there are moments of tenderness and beauty. It perfectly captures, I think, the reality of life that even in the darkest of moments, there can still be love and happiness. And from a directing and acting perspective, how did you find that balance to showcase the tenderness and the beauty, especially in those darker moments?
Patrick Tam: Let me answer first. That sense of tenderness, the tenderness I brought to Lung Sir, comes from a middle-aged man who has gone through many life experiences. The way he sees people and situations has changed. The anger he once had can now be transformed into humour, in the way he expresses himself and communicates with others. In how he views people and the world around him. So this tenderness comes from encountering this particular character, which allowed me, as a middle-aged person, to express a renewed perspective on how to look at people and life itself.
Herman Yau: And to me, as a director, the making of this movie and also the writing of this script, I have a keyword in mind, that’s the authenticity, and what I wrote to me is all real and so vivid. It’s not a movie, it’s an actual encounter of my daily life and when we are talking about how dark or how mellow the movie is. I think I just follow, especially during the writing, I just follow the drama and also the characters in the movie, and if people are talking about my execution, then I think it should be up to the audience or the critics to analyse it. I hope that the audience can recognise or see this movie as an honest movie.
Ansonbean: And for the role of Ike, although there are a lot of tragic events and a lot of hatred going on throughout the movie, there really are several beautiful and tender moments. Whenever he is having a sweet time with Fai, while they are having a meal, or when he is drawing his boyfriend, those bits are really sweet and beautiful. Also, the one where his sister gave him the watch, those are all sweet moments. I really cherish those bits a lot when I was acting because those bits remind us to look at the little things in life, look at that little bit of love, little bit of hope that we still have, so that we won’t push ourselves to the limit that we gotta blow up. So, I feel like for the ones that are going through a tough time, we could also change our perspective and try to look for the ones that still love us and be present and cherish those little moments with them.
We’re Nothing at All is in UK Cinemas from May 29th, with previews on 23rd/24th at select cinemas.
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