The Last Dance Review

From a UK perspective, funerals can be described as gloomy and depressing. An aura lurks over the proceedings as a person who lived with us and laughed with us is gone, and all that remains is the cold, blue body. For many people, funerals are a place to mourn loss. However, they should be more than that. My grandma, before she passed, told me that she wanted her funeral to be a party. Why? Because she lived a great life and wanted to be remembered for that. The Last Dance is, in a way, also about that; it is a film that declares that funerals are for the souls of both the dead and the living to transcend, and that funerals, just like weddings, should be personal to the deceased.

Dominic (Dayo Wong) is out of work due to the pandemic. The wedding business is not economically booming, and he is struggling to pay his debts or even make ends meet. He is given an opportunity for a career change when his girlfriend’s uncle, a funeral planner, retires and allows Dominic to take over. Dominic brings his wedding expertise to the funeral business, which brings them unexpected success. However, his business partner, traditional Taoist priest Master Man (Michael Hui), only sees gimmicks and insincere concepts. Throughout the film, we see them learn from each other and develop mutual respect.

We see many scenes of Dominic and Master Man preparing bodies for coffins and overseeing the ceremony; these moments are among the film’s highlights. Whether it’s the haunting yet emotional scene where they must clean the body of a young boy or Dominic applying makeup so that the deceased look their best, what these scenes showcase most is that funerals can be personal and, in a way, a celebration of life. While some of the gimmicks Dominic tries to sell are comedic, the Lego-inspired toy they want to market is just funny, but jewelry that can store ashes has a humorous setup with an emotionally effective payoff. Additionally, incorporating aspects of what the deceased loved into the funeral is truly special.

What I described is the main plot of The Last Dance; however, there is a sophisticated subplot involving Man Yuet Kwok (Michelle Wai), Master Man’s daughter, who faces gender inequality in her daily life. Whether it’s people saying she cannot lift someone as a paramedic because she’s a woman or being unable to become a Taoist priest because women are deemed “impure” and their period blood is said to stain the clothes—it is heart-wrenching to see such dated practices that perpetuate the narrative that men are more important than women, especially today.

Especially as we approached the film’s ending, many scenes resonated with me and hit close to home. Watching a man slowly lose control of his own body and having to rely on others—yet his stubbornness won’t allow it—was depicted so accurately that I was reminded of my grandma in her final moments.

However, as I mentioned at the beginning, she wanted her funeral to be a party, and while not exactly the same, the film ends with the characters repairing wrongs, making the final moments special for their loved ones, and showing them they are cherished. When the credits rolled, I was truly overwhelmed with raw emotion.

The Last Dance is powerfully raw and a beautiful film about life after death, showing that when it comes to funerals, the living are just as important as the deceased. Delightfully heartbreaking and essential viewing.