The Last Dance 破·地獄 - promotion in Malaysia with Michelle 衛詩雅 and director Anselm Chan 陳茂賢 - 30 November 2024

The most talked about HK movie currently has got to be “The Last Dance” ( 破·地獄).As of now, it has breached RM10 million (and still counting)mark in the local box office collection.  It is also on the way to become the highest grossing movie in Hong Kong.  To date, it has surpassed HKD110 million in ticket sales, merely 3 weeks since its release. It has beaten “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” (released early this year) and going to topple “A Guilty Conscience” soon. Dayo’s midas touch is still on a roll, judging from the success of  “Table for Six”, “A Guilty Conscience” and now, “The Last Dance”.  Prior to watching the movie, two major elements already piqued my curiosity.  Firstly, having two iconic comedians (Dayo and Michael Hui) in a solemn flick and the fresh theme about funeral business and Taoist funeral customs in HK.  Dayo mentioned in an interview at Dodo Cheng’s you tube channel that he accepted the role because of two main reasons – one is the opportunity to reunite on the silver screen with his idol, Michael Hui and secondly, the bold attempt to take on an unpopular genre, the funeral industry.  Director Anselm Chan thanked Emperor Motion Pictures Group for willing to take the huge risk of investing in a movie of this genre. The gamble has certainly paid off.

The plot revolves around Dayo Wong (a former wedding planner) who is struggling to make ends meet during the Covid pandemic. He has to make the hard choice of switching career to an unfamiliar territory, the funeral trade in HK.  Dayo’s partner is uptight and cranky Taoist priest, Michael Hui.  Michelle Wai plays Michael’s daughter, a paramedic who grapples with a stressful job and desperately craves the affection of her somber dad.  Michelle’s acting is nothing short of brilliant. She draws you into her character.  You feel her pent-up emotions from her facial expressions, especially her sad soulful eyes.  Chu Pak Hong’s role as Michelle elder brother, who is reluctant to inherit his dad’s craft also deserves thumbs up. All in all, despite the dark theme and some unsettling scenes of decaying corpses, the movie conveys a strong message of family bonding before it’s too late, overcoming grief, be compassionate and have conscious when doing business and touched on the traditional rituals of “breaking hell” - 破·地獄. I learnt something new as I have no inkling of “breaking hell” procedures before watching this movie. FYI – ‘breaking hell” or in Cantonese 破·地獄 is a Taoist funeral ritual to open the gate of hell and free the deceased trapped within. In addition, it is a strictly male only profession. Michelle and director Anselm have put in a lot of effort and done much homework during pre-production. Coincidently, Michelle clinched the best leading actress award at last week’s 61^st Asia Pacific Film festival in KL and Anselm bagged the best director accolade, too. Bravo ! I’m genuinely happy for Michelle who has dabbled in the acting field for 16 long years but has not gain much recognition until now. Both were also in-town to meet the media and audience, as part of the movie promotion and to participate in the audience appreciation sessions in several cinemas. My personal take is the movie is a gem, with competent cast and riveting storyline (although a little slow burn for some) but it is not so suitable for young kids to watch due to some sensitive/disturbing scenes.  Great sharing from Michelle and Anselm about the movie and their thoughts about shooting “The Last Dance”. Watch the clips for more details.