Funeral rites come alive in The Last Dance

The Hong Kong drama offers fascinating glimpses into the city's funeral traditions

- John Lui

The pandemic has devastated Hong Konger Dominic's (Dayo Wong) wedding planning business. When Taoist priest Master Man (Michael Hui) seeks someone to handle the business side of his funeral rites company, the cash-strapped executive steps in.

The story: Their partnership is fraught with tension, further strained by family dynamics—particularly concerning Master Man's daughter Yuet (Michelle Wai), who has been denied succession because she is a woman.

Despite what its setting might suggest, Hong Kong writer-director Anselm Chan's film is not fundamentally about death. Rather, he uses a funeral business as a lens to examine the burden of patriarchal expectations and the toll of generational sacrifice.