The Great Buddha+ (2017)

One day when Pickle's and his colleague, Belly Bottom's television is broken, their lives are changed forever.

Director:

Hsin-yao Huang

Writer:

Hsin-yao Huang

Stars:

Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen, Leon Dai

21 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cres Chuang	...	Pickle
Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen	...	Belly Bottom (as Bamboo Chen)
Leon Dai	...	Kevin Huang
Shao-Huai Chang	...	Skaya / Sugar apple
Yi-wen Chen	...	Congressman Gao
Na-Dou Lin	...	Peanut (as Na Dow)
Kuo-Lin Ting	...	Yeh Feng Ju
Yung-Feng Lee	...	Deputy Speaker
Yueh-hsin Chu	...	Singer (as Pigheadskin)
J.C. Lei	...	Gucci
Mei-Hsiu Lin	...	Sister
Pei-Fang Wang	...	Peanut's Uncle (as Xiao Liang Ge)
An-Shun Yu	...	Shun
Vincent Liang	...	Deputy Commissioner
Hsien Tuo	...	Pickle's Uncle (as Tuo-Shen Chen)

Storyline

Pickle is a night security guard at a bronze statue factory. His colleague, Belly Bottom, works as a recycling collector during the day, and Pickle's biggest pleasure in life is flicking through the porn magazines Belly Bottom collects in the small hours in the security room. Having late night snacks and watching television are an integral part of their dull lives. One day when the television is broken, their lives are changed forever. The story involves gods, the middle-aged men's sexual desire and the conversation between ghosts and humans.

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Plot Keywords:

night guard | security guard | factory | recycling | television | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Taiwan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

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Soundtracks

To Have, or Not To Have
Lyrics by Chiau-hoa Ong
Composed & Performed by Sheng-Xiang Lin

User Reviews

Well mixed symbolism and realism

The depiction of the lowlife feels very real- their timidness, their very limited, non-imaginative desire and their quiet desperation. The black and white for the poor and the color for the rich adds to the contrast of lifestyles of social classes on the extremes. Yet interestingly, I don't think the film is trying to make people angry in any sense. It just make you feel, 'that's the way it is'.

Mixed with the realness is the symbolism shown in the film. I think it's best that viewers not try it too hard to put logic into every plot of the film, but just accept it as an artistic expression .

Details

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Min Nan

Release Date:

15 February 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Buddha+

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-Yao Film, Cream Film Production, Mandarin Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Black and White Color (some scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1