Hong Kong Selects ‘The Last Dance’ as Oscar Entry

Hong Kong has selected local blockbuster hit “The Last Dance” as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

Directed, produced and co-written by Anselm Chan, the film stars Cantonese comedy icons Dayo Wong and Michael Hui, alongside Michelle Wai and Chu Pak Hong. It follows a wedding planner who pivots to the funeral business during the pandemic and partners with a Taoist ritual master, setting off a story about family estrangement, tradition and reconciliation.

“The Last Dance” is Hong Kong’s highest-grossing local Chinese-language release and earned 18 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards, tying the record for most nods in a single year.

“Chan’s handsomely crafted third feature is a poignant drama about finding meaning in life from the passing of loved ones and the rituals of final farewells,” wrote Richard Kuipers, reviewing the film for Variety. “For those who instantly associate Taoist movie priests with the hopping vampires and hungry ghosts of Hong Kong’s goeng-sin horror-comedy heyday of the 1980s (like ‘Mr. Vampire’ and ‘Kung Fu Zombie’), ‘The Last Dance’ offers an appealing and insightful look at the everyday life and work of these religious and community leaders.”

Hong Kong has submitted films for the international feature category since 1959 but has yet to win. The region has secured nominations thrice – in 1991 for Zhang Yimou’s “Raise the Red Lantern,” in 1993 for Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” and in 2020 for Derek Tsang’s “Better Days.” Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grandmaster” made the shortlist in 2013.

The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.