A Fist Within Four Walls 1.01

Episode 1

This is a  Hong Kong TV show from 2016 which is currently available on Amazon Prime. It is in Catonese with English subtitles.

The story opens on 1945 in Kowloon, a neighborhood in Hong Kong. Chiu Mang-san and Duen Tong-tin, the leaders of two competing schools of Baji (a Chinese martial art) agree to work together. Kowloon was controlled by organized crime at this time.

The agreement didn't last very long. Duen was killed by an unknown assailant while he and Chiu were trying to rescue people from a building that has caught fire. Chiu is blamed for Duen's death. He is arrested and thrown is jail. The men sharing a cell with him attempt to kill him in what looks like a setup.

Chiu escapes from jail but then he is hounded by Duen's brothers. He is already weak from the fight in jail. He fights back to protect his wife, son, and daughter. His wife helps the kids escape through a hole in a wall but she stays by her husband. They are both killed.

Chiu's children, Yeung and Ha, escape but they get separated. Yeung is taken in by his great aunt who lives in Macao. He adopts the name Chor Au-kuen. He lives with her for the next 14 years. He returns to Hong Kong and heads to Kowloon in 1959.

Chor is there to look for his long lost sister. He is fairly naive and gets taken for a ride more than once before he learns how tough life is in Kowloon. The episode ends with him meeting what looks to be the son of Duen Tong-tin.

Thoughts

I ran across this show by chance when I was looking for something else. I decided that I had to give it a chance once I learned that it was available on Amazon Prime. It is a bit melodramatic. The fight scenes aren't all great but there are quite a few of them. I especially liked the botched attempt to kill Chiu Mang-san in jail. Each of the three assailants had his own technique.

The show ran for 28 episodes. Each episode is about 45 minutes long. I'm not completely sold on this show but considering that this episode was mostly setup for the rest of the show I'm curious to see how it progresses from here.