The Great Buddha+
| The Great Buddha+ | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Huang Hsin-yao |
| Screenplay by | Huang Hsin-yao |
| Based on | The Great Buddha by Huang Hsin-yao |
| Produced by | Yeh Ju-feng Chung Mong-hong |
| Starring | Cres Chuang Bamboo Chen Leon Dai Na Dow |
| Narrated by | Huang Hsin-yao |
| Cinematography | Nagao Nakashima |
| Edited by | Lai Hsiu-hsiung |
| Music by | Lin Sheng-xiang |
Production companies | MandarinVision Cream Production |
| Distributed by | Applause Entertainment Cheng Cheng Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Languages | Taiwanese Hokkien Mandarin English |
| Box office | NT$28.4 million (Taiwan)[1] |
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]
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
- 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 Awards | Best Film from Mainland and Taiwan | The Great Buddha+ | Won | [10] |
See also
- List of submissions to the 91st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ "TFI-國家電影中心 Taiwan Film Institute - 電影票房資訊-每週票房公告". www.tfi.org.tw. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ Patrick, Frater (14 September 2018). "Oscars: Taiwan Sends 'Great Buddha+' Into Foreign-Language Contention". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ 聯合新聞網. "「大佛普拉斯」黑白拍攝背後真相 竟是這個原因... - 電影 - 噓！星聞".
- ^ Lee, Maggie (29 September 2017). "Film Review: 'The Great Buddha+'".
- ^ "《大佛普拉斯》紅到國外 卻被外媒誤會這件事".
- ^ "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". www.goldenhorse.org.tw.
- ^ "2017 Taipei Film Festival". eng.taipeiff.taipei. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16.
- ^ "Announcing the TIFF '17 Award Winners". 17 September 2017.
- ^ "'Three Billboards' Takes Home the Top TIFF Audience Prize". ScreenCrush.
- ^ "Hong Kong Film Awards nominations 2018: Ann Hui's Our Time Will Come leads race with 11 nods". South China Morning Post. February 6, 2018.
External links
- The Great Buddha+ at IMDb
- The Great Buddha+ at Douban (in Chinese)