The Sparring Partner Review A Stylish Take On A Gruesome Reallife Murder
This true crime drama was inspired by the horrific murders in Hong Kong in 2013, when a 28-year-old man murdered and dismembered his parents . Heat their body parts in the microwave; The police found the head in the fridge. The case caused a media frenzy; The great thing about Sparring Partner is that it turns the horrors of the subject into a serious, cerebral and solid film. It is a semi-elegant judicial drama that stimulates the intellectual awakening of lawyers. Behind the scenes we see tense negotiations in the jury room. It also contains conflicting accounts of the murder.
In fact, we know from the start who the main culprits are. Henry (Yeung Wai-lun) confesses to their murder shortly after making a public appeal to help find their missing mother and father. It sounds here as sarcastic, woefully inadequate and nostalgic for its glory days. (Although I can live with the ridiculous and mundane scenes of Hitler's nightmare - with a uniform and a beard.)
The big question for the jury – and the one we're looking at right now – is whether Henry's scheming friend Angus (Mak Pui-tung) was an accomplice to the murder. He said he helped Henry remove the bodies after he threatened to kill his mother and sister. Angus has a below average IQ of 84. Will he be able to get out of trouble? Perhaps Rashomon Style, we see the accused's conflicting accounts of the events of that night in stunning scenes by director Cheek Tin Ho. The most memorable comes at the end: the jury is transported to the murder scene. A judge shouted from behind a cabinet; Another grabbed his phone to record the brutal act. It's a smart scene in a smart movie that lasts at least 30 minutes and has a broader theme of guilt and justice.
