# The Hand (手) (2004 film)
**The Hand** (手) is a 2004 short feature by the Hong Kong director [Wong Kar-wai](https://www.edgepedia.org/wong-kar-wai), running 56 minutes, about a shy tailor's assistant in 1960s Hong Kong whose life is shaped by a single intimate encounter with a courtesan client[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/). It was first made as one of three segments of the anthology film *Eros*, alongside contributions from [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh) and [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelangelo-antonioni), and Wong later expanded his segment into a stand-alone feature of nearly an hour[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / year | Wong Kar-wai, 2004, Hong Kong[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) |
| Runtime | 56 minutes (theatrically released extended version)[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004) |
| Origin | One segment of the three-part anthology *Eros*, with Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni; expanded by Wong into a stand-alone feature[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/) |
| Cast | Chang Chen as Zhang, a tailor's assistant; Gong Li as Miss Hua, a courtesan; Tien Feng as Master Jin[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004) |
| Setting | Hong Kong in the 1960s[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) |
| Key crew | Cinematography by Christopher Doyle; music by Peer Raben, Claude Letessier, and Tu Duu-chih[4](https://www.film.at/shou-0) |
| Language | Dialogue mainly in Mandarin, unusual for a Wong Kar-wai film[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/) |
| Reception | IMDb audience rating of 7.3/10[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004) |
## Spoilers
### Story and style
Zhang ([Chang Chen](https://www.edgepedia.org/chang-chen)) is a meek dressmaker's assistant plying his trade in 1960s Hong Kong. His first client is Miss Hua ([Gong Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/gong-li)), a celebrated and expensive courtesan; at their first meeting she seduces him so that he will truly remember her when designing her garments, and a rapport develops between the two over the years that follow[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004). Initially she enjoys a life of luxury, juggling several lovers, Mr. Zhao (Zhou Jianjun), a gigolo, and her nightclub job, but her fortunes later decline until she is left working as a prostitute out of a shabby hotel, with Zhang remaining in contact throughout[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/).
The film is built on touch rather than explicit sex, which is largely absent after the opening minutes. Its eroticism runs through fabric and craft: Miss Hua makes phallic dumplings that Zhang devours while sensually caressing her clothing, and in one scene Zhang's character "makes love" to a new piece of fabric with his arm[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/) • [5](https://eternalitytan.com/2022/08/06/hand-the-2004/). Visually, the film sets Miss Hua's opulent flat, in which Zhang is invariably dressed in a suit and tie, against his shabby place of business, where he and his fellow workers wear vests while on the job.[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/)
## Origin in the Eros anthology
*Eros* (2004) was conceived as a triptych of short films on eroticism by three directors: Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, and Michelangelo Antonioni[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/). The anthology was poorly received as a whole; reviewers picked apart the Soderbergh and Antonioni segments, and Wong's contribution was widely judged the strongest of the three[5](https://eternalitytan.com/2022/08/06/hand-the-2004/). Wong then expanded his short into a medium-length feature just shy of an hour, and the theatrical release represents this extended version rather than the anthology segment[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004).
Wong himself dated the idea to the SARS outbreak that interrupted his long-running production of *2046* in the spring of 2003. In an interview he recalled an emptied Hong Kong, taxis lined up with their lights on and restaurants vacant, and the repeated warning "don't touch anything": "I thought: perhaps it is time to make a film about touch, about how it can cause contagion. That is the idea of *The Hand*: not a film about SARS, but about the eroticism of touch."
## Place in Wong Kar-wai's work
The Hand shares its hazy 1960s Hong Kong setting, its beautiful clothes and make-up, and its texture of fabric with *In the Mood for Love* (2000) and *2046* (2004), and reviewers describe it as an aesthetic and thematic extension of those films, forming a loose trilogy concerned with unrequited love and the longing for intimate connection[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/) • [5](https://eternalitytan.com/2022/08/06/hand-the-2004/). Gong Li also appears in *2046* of the same year, and her Miss Hua has been compared to characters from that film, such as Lulu ([Carina Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/carina-lau)) or an older, more emotionally hardened [Bai Ling](https://www.edgepedia.org/bai-ling) ([Zhang Ziyi](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-ziyi))[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) • [2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/).
Within Wong's filmography the piece is more linear than most of his films, and it is a rare one in which the dialogue is mainly in Mandarin[2](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/). Critics have treated it as a minor but genuine contribution to his collection: the reviewer Eternality Tan called it "easily the finest" of the *Eros* trio and graded it B+, noting that it works as a counterpoint to the anthology's more salacious aims[5](https://eternalitytan.com/2022/08/06/hand-the-2004/).
## Release and availability
The film is distributed by Janus Films and has been available for streaming on the Criterion Channel[1](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004). A restored 4K version, previously unreleased, circulated in Wong Kar-wai retrospectives, opening in French cinemas on 20 December 2023[6](https://adrc-asso.org/patrimoine/diffusion/films-et-cycles/hand).
## References
1. [The Hand, Metrograph](https://metrograph.com/film/9999004759-the-hand/)
2. [The Hand [手] (2004), dianyingblog](https://dianyingblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/02/the-hand-%E6%89%8B-2004/)
3. [The Hand streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hand-2004)
4. [手, film.at](https://www.film.at/shou-0)
5. [Hand, The (2004), Eternality Tan](https://eternalitytan.com/2022/08/06/hand-the-2004/)
6. [The Hand, ADRC](https://adrc-asso.org/patrimoine/diffusion/films-et-cycles/hand)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Individual short films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license