he Great Buddha+

Pickle works the night shift as a security guard at a factory manufacturing Buddha statues. His friend Belly Button spends his days collecting scrap for recycling. In the evenings, they huddle in the guard booth: eating junk food, flipping through porn magazines, and watching dashcam footage from Pickle’s boss to kill time. One night, they stumble across something they were never meant to see – a discovery that alters their lives forever.

The Great Buddha+ takes an irreverent look at spirituality and religion with unapologetic humour. In this Buddhist buddy movie, two friends become hooked on voyeurism, while increasingly disturbing dashcam footage creates the impression that reality itself has fallen under the gaze of an all-seeing (divine) eye. Transcendence, however, takes an exceptionally cynical form here.

Previously unreleased in Poland, Huang Hsin-yao’s cult black comedy holds up a stark mirror to a world saturated with impunity and driven by the violent logic of late capitalism. Huang’s debut proved a surprise sensation, earning 11 nominations at the 2017 Golden Horse Awards and winning in five categories.

 

age rating: 16 and up
trigger warnings: violence, alcohol and/or drug use