The Great Buddha+

The Great Buddha+ is a 2017 Taiwanese dark comedy film written and directed by Huang Hsin-yao. It is Huang's feature film directorial debut. It won the top prize at the 19th Taipei Film Festival and received 10 nominations at the 54th Golden Horse Awards, winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best New Director for Huang. It was released in theaters on October 13, 2017. It was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[2]

The Great Buddha+
Theatrical release poster
Chinese大佛普拉斯
MandarinDà fó pǔ lā sī
Directed byHuang Hsin-yao
Produced byYeh Ju-feng
Chung Mong-hong
Screenplay byHuang Hsin-yao
Based onThe Great Buddha
by Huang Hsin-yao
StarringCres Chuang
Bamboo Chen
Leon Dai
Na Dow
Narrated byHuang Hsin-yao
Music byLin Sheng-xiang
CinematographyNagao Nakashima
Edited byLai Hsiu-hsiung
Production
company
MandarinVision
Cream Production
Distributed byApplause Entertainment
Cheng Cheng Films
Release date
  • June 29, 2017 (2017-06-29) (Taipei)
  • October 13, 2017 (2017-10-13) (Taiwan)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryTaiwan
LanguageTaiwanese Hokkien
Mandarin
English
Box officeNT$28.4 million (Taiwan)[1]

Premise

The night security guard at a Buddha statue factory along with his friend, a recyclables collector, become entangled in a web of dark secrets after stumbling upon videos that document the promiscuous meetings of the factory's wealthy owner.

Cast

Lin Chia-lung and the film cast
  • Cres Chuang as Pickle
  • Bamboo Chen as Belly Button
  • Leon Dai as Kevin
  • Na Dow as Peanut
  • Chang Shao-huai as Sakya
  • Ting Kuo-lin as Yeh Feng-ju
  • JC Lei as Gucci
  • Chen Yi-wen as Kao
  • Vincent Liang as Police chief
  • Yu An-shun as Police officer
  • Jutoupi as Singer
  • Lee Yung-feng as Deputy speaker
  • Lin Mei-hsiu as Senior
  • Cheng Yu-tong (Evelyn Cheng) as Kao's secretary
  • Hsien Tuo (as Tuo-Shen Chen) as Pickle's Uncle

Production

The film is an extension of director Huang Hsin-yao's 2014 Golden Horse Award-nominated short, The Great Buddha (大佛).[3] According to Huang, the inclusion of "+" in the feature's title is a reference to the Apple smartphone iPhone 6 Plus, which was released around the time when he began expanding his short to a feature.[4] In an interview, Huang also clarified that The Great Buddha+ was not shot on iPhone.[5]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
54th Golden Horse Awards Best Feature Film The Great Buddha+ Nominated [6]
Best Supporting Actor Leon Dai Nominated
Best New Director Huang Hsin-yao Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Huang Hsin-yao Won
Best Cinematography Nagao Nakashima Won
Best Art Direction Chao Shih-hao Nominated
Best Original Film Score Lin Sheng-xiang Won
Best Original Film Song "To Have, or Not to Have"
Composer:Lin Sheng-xiang
Lyrics: Ong Chiau-hoa
Performer: Lin Sheng-xiang
Won
Best Film Editing Lai Hsiu-hsiung Nominated
Best Sound Effects Tu Duu-chih and Wu Shu-yao Nominated
19th Taipei Film Awards Grand Prize The Great Buddha+ Won [7]
Best Narrative Feature The Great Buddha+ Won
Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Editing Lai Hsiu-hsiung Won
Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Music Lin Sheng-xiang Won
Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Art Direction Chao Shih-hao Won
2017 Toronto International Film Festival NETPAC Award The Great Buddha+ Won [8][9]
37th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Film from Mainland and TaiwanThe Great Buddha+Won[10]

See also

References

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