The film “The Last Dance” (《破·地獄》) raked in over HKD$7 million on its November 9th debut, making it the highest opening day gross in the history of Hong Kong cinema.
Directed and written by Anselm Chan, the film features Dayo Wong（黃子華）, Michael Hui（許冠文）, Michelle Wai（衛詩雅）, and Chu Pak Hong（朱栢康）, and it delves into issues surrounding death care in Hong Kong. It follows a wedding planner who forges a partnership with a traditional Taoist priest, aiming to gain insights into the significance of life and death through funeral rituals.
This film is Anselm Chan’s third feature as a director, marking his shift from creating comedies to dramas, a change sparked by inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic. He started penning the screenplay while working on “Ready or Rot” (《不日成婚2》), with principal photography conducted from January to March 2024. The filming occurred at the Tung Wah Coffin Home and the International Funeral Parlour, highlighting the unprecedented opportunity for these venues to be open for public filming.
Director and screenwriter Anselm Chan first envisioned a film that would explore life and death ten years prior to beginning the project; however, he felt unprepared both technically and mentally at the time. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to revisit this concept, particularly after experiencing the loss of many individuals around him. He started writing the screenplay following the death of his grandmother during the filming of “Ready or Rot”.
Initially, Chan aimed to cast comedic actors, believing they had the strongest acting abilities to address the film’s serious subjects. He chose Dayo Wong and Michael Hui, drawn to Wong’s success in “A Guilty Conscience”(《毒舌大狀》) and Hui’s role in the drama “Godspeed”（《一路順風》）. Despite his reputation for comedy, Chan found that the early drafts of the screenplay were “darker” in tone, which faced pushback from confirmed cast members Dayo Wong, Elaine Jin, and Vincent Kok. Consequently, he adjusted the screenplay to incorporate a lighter, more comedic approach before Michael Hui reviewed it.
The screenplay also touched on issues related to sexism within Chinese traditions, influenced by Chan’s personal experiences at a relative’s funeral. To enrich the story, he conducted field research by interviewing various professionals in the funeral industry, integrating their real-life experiences into the narrative.
The Chinese name “Po Dei Juk”(破地獄) is a kind of ceremony that the Taoist priests perform “Break Hell’s Gate” at the funeral, to eliminate the bad karma, guilty and pains for the dead. At the end of the movie, Dominic starred by Dayo Wong said, “Not only the dead, but living people also have hell’s gate to break”, which pointed out the theme of the movie at the same time.
Image at the top by Emperor Motion Pictures.