Movie review of The Last Dance

I had a discounted movie ticket at GSC and went to watch à Cantonese movie The Last Dance.Nearly bought wrong movie,an English movie Venom The Last Dance but held back after reading description. Micheal Hui is one of Hong Kongs well known comedians along with Sam Hui and RIP Ricky Hui.Their movies have a slapstick comedy feel but a subtle social commentary. Security unlimited,chicken n duck talk and aces goes places were well received by movie audience.They didnt present an idealized ,glorified fantasy world of Hong Kong society but the nitty gritty life of the average wage earner,their mundane lives n hopes.They represented the voice of the dai pai dong,the security guard,the street traders whose voices were heard on the big screen. but the movie The Last Dance deal with death,a very taboo word in Asian society .even houses dont have no. 4 in its postal address or the elevator doesnt have 4th floor button coz 4 sounds like die in Cantonese.The worst curse to a Cantonese is hum ka chan or may your whole family die.or to swear sie yan tou at you is not complimenting your looks for you look more. like a dead persons head Anyway Stephen Chow makes irreverent comedies like mou lai tou or non sense movies famous and the Hui brothers comedy of errors are well known.But Michael Hui made death into a satire which left me weeping rather than laughing as it was so realistic depiction of funerals n death rituals of the Chinese. Death is a part of life and as a Taoist priest,he realised he helped the dead transition to the underworld,His partner the funeral agent helped the living process with their loss and grief.But this movie reminded me of another similar theme of funeral employee,unemployment and the lessons the dead can teach. I watched the Japanese movie Departures years ago and the plot is alike but the Japanese movies theme is muted n understated.A out of work musician returns to his small village n is forced to work as a mortician in a funeral parlour to make a living.There is a parent child conflict with his sick n dying father,the unfinished business the dead leave behind as the living struggle to find closure are all the same themes explored by the Last Dance. in terms of death the South Korean horror movie Exhuma deals with female shamans,feng shui and historical greviances .while Last Dance focus on a Taoist priest,Exhuma focus on female shamans.the Last Dance harps on gender discrimination that forbids priest from passing down ritualistic skills to daughters who are considered dirty and thus inferior status,Koreans accept female shamans in a traditional society that also discriminates females.But Exhuma is a different genre as its a horror thriller rooted in past historical injustices and family honour..Lately death has lost its taboo fear by Asian audience as the highest grossing Thai movie How to make millions before grandma dies was well received.That tear jerker also deal with family dynamics,unfair gender discrimation and importance of feng shui or burial grounds to prosperity of descendents But the wealth element or inferitance of loss is emphasized. M

y My recommendation is the Last Dance is worth watching as its your Last Chance to see how corpses look like and the work of a mortician sure aint as easy as you think.If Life sucks,then Death stinks .