The Great Buddha +
大佛普拉斯
Taiwan’s Entry for Best Foreign-Language Film at the 91st OSCARS®
Director & Writer: HUANG, Hsin-Yao Cast: CHUANG, Cres / CHEN, Bamboo/ DAI, Leon
Underlining the gap between have-nots' lives and elites' world by switching between black and white and glamorous colors, THE GREAT BUDDHA+ vividly illustrates a corrupted village in rural southern Taiwan with memorable style, heartfelt empathy, and whimsical humor. Security guard Pickle and his trash collector friend Belly Button kill time together in night shifts watching the American-educated boss's dash-cam recordings of his various sexual encounters with women. Against the buddies’ will, something horrifying rather than erotic reveals.
Humor, a perennial scarcity in the self-serious world of art-house cinema, is in pleasingly abundant supply in Taiwanese director Huang Hsin-yao’s The Great Buddha+
OPENING IN THEATERS (updating)
1/26/2018 VANCOUVER Vancity Theater
1/26/2018 SAN FRANCISCO 4 Star Theater
2/6/2018 LOS ANGELES Acropolis Cinema
2/9/2018 CHICAGO Facets Cinémathèque
2/16/2018 SANTA FE Jean Cocteau Cinema
2/20/2018 ALBUQUERQUE Guild Cinema
2/25, 3/1 /2018 PORTLAND International Film Festival
3/2/2018 PITTSBURGH Regent Square
3/8,9,17/2018 HOUSTON The Museum of Fine Arts
3/14/2018 WINCHESTER Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
4/3, 4/2018 NEW YORK New Directors New Films
4/5/2018 CHICAGO Asian Pop Cinema
4/20/2018 EAST LANSING Michigan State University
5/25/2018 NORMAL Normal Theater
6/2,3,5/2018 ANN ARBOR Cinetopia
6/15/2018 VICTORIA Cinecenta
6/17/2018 NEW YORK Syndicated
6/22/2018 VANCOUVER Vancouver International Film Centre
7/1/2018 SEATTLE SIFF Cinema Uptown
9/20/2018 HALIFAX Atlantic International Film Festival
9/21/2018 WASHINGTON DC Freer and Sackler Galleries
10/31/2018 LOS ANGELES Asian World Film Festival
11/3,7/2018 ST. LOUIS International Film Festival
11/16, 17/2018 BLOOMINGTON Indiana University Cinema
11/16/2018 ATLANTA Plaza Theatre
11/23/2018 NEW YORK Cinema Village
11/26/2018 BOSTON Harvard Film Archive
11/26/2018 SAN FRANCISCO Marina Theatre
11/30/2018 LOS ANGELES Arena Cinelounge
12/28/2018-1/6/2019 BLOOMINGTON The Ryder
recognitions
Winner, NETPAC, Toronto International Film Festival
5 wins, 10 nominations, Taiwan Golden Horse Awards
Palm Springs International Film Festival
New Directors New Films
Vancouver International Film Festival
San Diego Asian Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
5 wins including Best Picture, Taipei Film Awards
Tokyo International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Singapore International Film Festival
Hong Kong Film Awards
Asian Film Awards
Portland International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
IndieLisboa - Mouth of Madness
Vilnius Film Festival - Discoveries
STREAM IT NOW ON VOD
現可在線點播
Sporting an ingeniously cinematic concept that’s nimbly executed by writer-director Huang Hsin-yao and producer-DP Chung Mong-hong, this ballad of sad losers mixed with satire on parochial politics is convulsively funny yet uncompromisingly bleak, bridging art with entertainment..
...Viewers looking for renewed faith in the power, vision, and sheer fun of movies will love The Great Buddha +
...the viewer is at once dismayed by the cruelty of this society & seduced by Mr. Huang’s smooth and witty style.

The Great Buddha + elevates into becoming a poignant portrait of the human spirit.
...the most important film from Taiwan since Yi Yi (Edward Yang).