The Great Buddha

The Great Buddha+ is a unique and fascinating film that seamlessly combines drama, comedy, and social critique. It was released in 2017 and features a compelling performance by the lead actors Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen, and Leon Dai.

The film is the expansion of director Hsin-Yao Huang's short film, which provides a scathing critique of society and a darkly humorous portrayal of life. It captures the audience's attention with its distinctively low-tech aesthetic and a narrative that dives deep into ironies and intricacies of the social class system. Director Hsin-Yao Huang, one of Taiwan's most promising filmmakers, masterfully creates a world that is hypnotic, hilarious, and heartbreakingly real all at once.

Cres Chuang steps in the shoes of Pickle, a melancholic night watchman at a Buddha statue factory. Pickle toils away in obscurity under the watchful eye of his boss, Kevin Huang, portrayed by Leon Dai. Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen plays Belly Button, a devoted but pedantic friend and recycling collector by trade. Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen’s offbeat and nuanced portrayal of Belly Button gives the film its heart and humor. Together, Pickle and Belly Button embark on nightly escapades that explode the mundane reality of their lives into surreal dimensions.

As it often happens in tales of mischief, things escalate when the duo stumbles upon the boss's dash-cam footage. The film builds around the incriminating material they find, cleverly incorporating it into the story. By trespassing the boss's personal space, they gain a disturbing glimpse into socio-economic disparities and fall into a rabbit hole that may offer more reality than they bargained for.

The dash cam is a significant symbol in the film – an intimate and invasive technology that unwittingly records the darkness within its owner. The footage presents a commentary on the voyeuristic tendencies of modern society and unravels the shocking realities behind the high walls of power and wealth.

The movie is a visually stunning experience with its use of black-and-white imagery. Exceptional cinematographic techniques allow viewers to observe the stark contrast between the colorful lives of the rich and the monochromatic lives of the working class. It's a metaphorical world that Huang builds for his characters, sketching their existences against a vibrant backdrop of warmly lit cars, stark factories, and shadowy lanes.

The Great Buddha+ also lingers on the junction of tradition and modernity. In the rusted sculptures of Buddhas, we see the timeless and divine overshadowed by consumerist culture. The "+", affixed to the movie’s title, is a pointed allusion to the plus versions of new products in contemporary society, ironically significant to the story's narrative and underscores the ironies laying within society.

One of the most striking features of The Great Buddha+ is its rich, idiosyncratic humor. Despite its dark themes and undertones, the narrative is frequently punctuated by moments of beauty and laughter. The witty banter and bumbling adventures of the central characters provide a comedic relief that makes the social critique more potent. The subplot of Pickle's erotic dreams presents a surreal blend of the comic and the tragic, mirroring the soul of the film.

The performances by the cast are exemplary—the three main actors, Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chu-Sheng Chen, and Leon Dai, tackle their roles with precision and depth. Their portrayals embody the struggle, boredom, frustration, and fleeting happiness of their characters, capturing the audience’s empathy and curiosity.

In summary, The Great Buddha+ emerges as a standout movie not just of 2017 but of the entire decade. Its sharp social observation, unique storytelling, stunning visual style, and dark humor make it a memorable watch. As it explores the lives of common men facing the absurdity and harshness of their reality, it serves as a peculiar but profound commentary on modern society. With its inherent dichotomies, nuanced performances, and arresting visuals, The Great Buddha+ is truly a cinematic masterpiece.