Movies: One Last Dance ( 茶舞 )

Watching One Last Dance ( 茶舞 ) is like putting together a jig saw puzzle whereby like what the show says: Every piece tells a different story. It is a witty but confusing thriller about a Hong Kong assassin, worth a watch largely because of its cool protagonist.

However, it is not an easy movie to sit through. Like a slow dance in fact, picking up the pace as it waltzes along. At times you'll wonder how scenes fit together, and find yourself getting increasingly frustrated when you don't find clear and immediate answers. The dialogue could be difficult to understand and at times contrived, and made no better when we cannot watch it in the original language track it was intended, in Cantonese.

Hong Kong actor Francis Ng plays as T, an assassin who always wears a suit, plays chess with the local police captain (acted by film legend Ti Lung) and never works on Sundays. His role is an intense, contemplative, and ever the mystery man, looking for that exclusive exit strategy. His friend, a police captain on the opposite side of the law, shares this friendship with T, but too bad their scenes together were limited. Their peculiar playing of chess highlights the fine line they're walking on, while there can be constant stalemates, ultimately a winner will emerge when a wrong move is made.

Vivian Hsu and Harvey Keitel however were the unfortunate token characters, with the former being cast in a flower vase role, while the latter literally had cameo appearances and was embarassly stiff. What was interesting in the casting, were the local faces seen, some familiar due to their TV and theatre outings, like Hossan Leong, Chen Guo Hua ( 陈国华 ), Zhou Chong Qing ( 周崇庆 ), Chen Tian Wen ( 陈天文 ), and even Yeo Yann Yann ( 杨燕燕 ), in a blink-and-you'll-miss-her role. But not every local actor had bit roles, as Joseph Quek had a meaty one as Ko, T's protege and friend.

I quite like the way how director Max Makowski protray certain scenes in the movie. One of them is the displaying of photographs describing Ko's movements and expressions during his rendezvous with some girls at a night club. The other one was the repeat of some scenes towards the end to explain for T's initial brutal killings. This tactic is good in the sense that it helps the audience to connect the dots but it can be equally annoying as this means we will have to watch those scenes again. To Makowski's credit, the film succeeds as more than a clever crime show. The most satisfying story line is the unfulfilled romance between T and a waitress (Vivian Hsu). Their relationship finally reveals what we're supposed to learn from T about the nature of innocence and accepting consequences with grace.

Overall, One Last Dance ( 茶舞 ) is a brilliant show. Might take you some time to figure out all the confused parts but the beauty lies when you finally piece them altogether. Just like a jigsaw puzzle.