Taoist funeral rituals in Hong Kong plays and a movie used to tell stories about life

From hit film The Last Dance to stage shows, Hong Kong writers use Chinese funerals to find meaning and help audiences cope with death

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Dayo Wong in a still from The Last Dance. The Hong Kong film recently broke box-office records despite it being about the taboo subject of death. Photo: Emperor Motion Pictures

Published: 6:15pm, 28 Nov 2024Updated: 8:04am, 29 Nov 2024

Death remains a taboo topic in Chinese culture because of its association with bad luck. But over the past few weeks, a Hong Kong film about the funeral business has taken the city box office by storm.

Since its release on November 9, The Last Dance, starring veteran comedians Michael Hui Koon-man and Dayo Wong Tze-wah, has raked in HK$90 million (US$11.6 million).

It also broke Hong Kong’s single-day box office record and other major Hong Kong movie records.

Despite its Chinese title – whose literal translation is “breaking hell’s gate”, a reference to a Taoist ritual performed at Chinese funerals – the family drama has nothing to do with the underworld or the supernatural.

Michael Hui in a still from The Last Dance. The record-breaking Hong Kong film has taken HK$90 million at the box office since its release on November 9. Photo: Emperor Motion Pictures

Rather, it is about humans’ innate need for ritual, in whatever shape or form, to help process loss.

“I have some family members who passed away a few years ago during the [Covid-19] pandemic. In preparation for their funerals, I came across the ‘breaking hell’s gate’ ritual, which got me thinking,” says Anselm Chan Mou-yin, writer and director of The Last Dance.