In all fairness, honesty and 'reson datre', I must point out that i don't speak French at all (i don't even know what "reson datre" means) and maybe some of the "jokes" in the film (which nobody outside the screen seem to find amusing) were mistranslated to English.
Nevertheless, lack of plot and terrible pacing got nothing to do with translation and this film is probably the best example of "how not to make a movie" in every possible aspect.
The "plot" of the movie revolves around Yann, a mechanic who leads some twisted friendship with a disgruntled old woman called Madame Catherine. This friendship consists entirely of getting drunk and acting like idiots.
The friendship comes to an abrupt end when Catherine dies (of boredom, probably) halfway through the film and Yann hides that fact from neighbors of the village they live in for some reason (building suspense, maybe).
Basically, I try not to be too aggressive in my reviews (even for lousy flicks) not due to my kind and loving nature but because when I hate certain films I still try to make the distinction between bad films and good films I didn't like because they didn't appeal to me, personally (for example, I can't stand "Moulin rouge" but I acknowledge its pacing and setting traits).
Les maines vides doesn't belong to the latter kind because the plot which can't hold a 15 minute flick,is stretched across 130 tormenting minutes.
Thin plot isn't this movie's only flaw, it seems that the scenes were arranged in a completely random order since the transitions between them are awkward at best, the dialogue rarely exists and most of the time the characters don't converse at all but rather sit in a dilapidated house in rural france waiting for the plot to twist.
In the name of balance and fair criticism, i will note that the music is great (i might actually acquire the soundtrack if i'll ever come across it), also the acting is usually very credible and reserved so the movie is not all bad.
It's bad enough to avoid at all costs, though.
1 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter.
