

KŪKAI
· 97 min · ★ 10.0
In 804 AD, Kūkai traveled to Tang China with the Japanese diplomatic mission to study under Master Huiguo, the seventh patriarch of Tang Esoteric Buddhism. After returning to Japan, his knowledge and practices went on to influence religion, literature, calligraphy, architecture, and education, shaping religious practice, artistic tradition, and intellectual life across East Asia for more than 1,250 years. Rooted in rigorous historical research, location-based storytelling, documentary techniques, cinematic reconstruction, and CG technology, the film recreates Kūkai’s world and revisits the Tang-era cultural exchange that transmitted ideas, philosophy, and spiritual traditions across East Asia. Through Kūkai’s journey, the documentary explores enduring themes of faith, learning, compassion, and cultural exchange, inviting timely conversations on ethical leadership, education, mental well-being, and intercultural dialogue in today’s increasingly interconnected world.
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Directors
- 悦野
- Production companies
- 寶曜勝德文化科技有限公司
- Countries
- Hong Kong
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- USD 3,496,173
Top Cast
Cast unavailable.
Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Availability not listed for this country.
Seasons & episodes
Recommendations

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

To mark the release two weeks ago of the eighth and final movie in the series, Robbie Coltrane narrates a countdown of the movie franchise's best moments. From Harry's first meeting with Ron and Hermione aboard the Hogwarts Express through to magical mysteries.

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

A documentary special that explores the power of identity behind the iconic superheroes we know and love today. These legendary Marvel creations and stories have not only reflected the world outside our window – they have become a reflection of our own identities and who we truly are.
Similar titles

Found footage: California in the 1950's and 60's. A young Indian couple enjoys their personal American dream come true in their home somewhere in the suburbs of San Francisco. In great detail they pose with their newly achieved wealth in front of their Super-8 camera. Just like postcards, they would send these film rolls to their joint families back in India. Around the same time, an American missionary couple visits the city of Calcutta to shoot a Christian propaganda film. The drastic reality with poverty and famine in the streets of the Indian metropolis fits perfectly into their wicked plan: To promote the faith in Jesus by showing the misery that pagan believers are doomed to suffer from.

When Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, he left behind a mountain of personal debt, which forced his heirs to sell his beloved Monticello home and all of its possessions. The Levys of Monticello is a documentary film that tells the little-known story of the Levy family, which owned and carefully preserved Monticello for nearly a century – far longer than Jefferson or his descendants. The remarkable story of the Levy family also intersects with the rise of antisemitism that runs throughout the course of American history.

A documentary that traces the life and times of Bhagat Singh, a committed Marxist who most ably exemplified the spirit of revolutionary resistance against British imperialism in undivided India.

The Last Jews of Baghdad takes a historical and personal look at the persecution, torture, escape and exodus of over 160,000 Iraqi- Jews between the years 1940 through 2003. Hear from the survivors the real reasons why they left their beloved homeland of over 2500 years and if they will ever return.

In 1609, Henry IV sent Inquisition judge Pierre de Lancre to the French Basque Country to investigate witchcraft. In the trials, 80 people were sentenced to death at the stake. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, a total of between 40,000 and 60,000 people fell victim to such waves of persecution in Europe. How can this phenomenon be explained?

Packed with drama, high emotions and cliff-hanger moments, Australia Says Yes is the intimate and personal history of struggle and perseverance that propelled Australia to say Yes to marriage equality. The film shows how a group of determined individuals fought tirelessly against unjust laws that treated LGBTIQ people as second-class citizens, creating a movement that saw them go from criminals to legally equal over the course of five decades.

In the shadow of the First World War, the genocide of the Christian Assyrians took place almost unnoticed by the world public. This first systematic genocide of the 20th century was committed by the Young Turks (Ottoman Empire) and would not have been possible without the support of some Kurdish local rulers and their family clans. The Assyrians are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia and have lived in Mesopotamia for thousands of years. The film includes testimony from several European, Turkish and Assyrian historians, as well as genocide researchers, including Professor Taner Akcam, Dr. Gabriele Yonan and Professor David Gaunt. The film includes testimony from survivors of the genocide. Various journalists and publicists also have their say with well-researched information in this documentary. The Assyrians refer to the Genocide as "Seyfo" (ܣܝܦܐ), which translates as "sword".

In the wake of one of the worst social experiments in the history of mankind, 'I'm not Black, I'm Coloured' is one of the first documentary films to look at the legacy of Apartheid from the viewpoint of the Cape Coloured. A people who in 1994, embraced the concept of Desmond Tutu's all encompassing 'rainbow nation', but soon thereafter realized that freedom, privilege, economic growth and equality would not include them. A people who for more than 350 years has been disregarded, ignored, belittled, and stripped of anything they can call their own enduring a complex psychological oppression and identity crisis unparalleled in South African history.

A moving meditation on guilt and reconciliation, Bloodlines explores the unwritten cost of war and genocide on future generations - of both victims and perpetrators. As Bettina Goering, grandniece of Nazi war criminal Herman Goering, searches for a way to come to terms with her heritage, she meets Ruth Rich, a painter and daughter of Holocaust survivors. At a time when seemingly irreconcilable divisions between groups are tearing the world apart, this deeply hopeful film is a beautiful testament to the power of dialogue and post-conflict reconciliation.
A feature length documentary about love, passion, pigeons and what home means to people. Daniel-John Williams an unknown Teesside actor, explores the world of pigeons and producing his first feature film but he has no idea about either.

From May 10, 1940, France is living one of the worst tragedies of it history. In a few weeks, the country folds, and then collapsed in facing the attack of the Nazi Germany. On June 1940, each day is a tragedy. For the first time, thanks to historic revelations, and to numerous never seen before images and documents and reenacted situations of the time, this film recounts the incredible stories of those men and women trapped in the torment of this great chaos.

Home to the Mitterrand family since 1965, Latche was the former president's base for three decades. Family, friends, and world leaders gathered there for walks, hours of conversation, and some of the defining moments of the century. There, he was a different François Mitterrand, absorbed by the "spirit of the place," far from the trappings of the Republic. An intimate space, Latche was also a political territory open to the world, a powerful diplomatic asset serving the ambitions of its owner.

The film showcases the voices of past and present Hougang residents, alongside commentary by historians, public intellectuals, politicians, and volunteers. Charting Hougang’s history from the mid-eighteenth century, the film features personal recollections of growing up in Hougang, residents’ sentiments towards state-led redevelopment and relocation, and the political journey of the community in the context of the Workers’ Party having won the Hougang Parliamentary seat a little over 30 years ago.

On January 15, 1972, Leonid Pliouchtch, a Ukrainian mathematician who was unknown at the time, was locked up in a Soviet psychiatric institution and accused of dissidence. His wife, Tatiana, fought for his defense and contacted a committee of French mathematicians to help him. Led by Laurent Schwartz, they launched a three-year campaign to secure his release and succeeded in getting the USSR to back down on the issue.

The child of Holocaust survivors, CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer, takes viewers through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and beyond, connecting the hours of the Holocaust and their modern parallels and his family story.

To the east of the Arabian desert, an ancient culture developed; and it attainted the sophistication of its civilized neighbours in Mesopotamia & Iran. The extreme aridity of the spot, combined with the strictness of religious prohibitions, discouraged archaeologists for a long period of time. Only recently, a group of French scientists initiated a large-span excavation. Their aim is to comprehend how this society succeeded to prosper, despite a natural environment so hostile to any conditions of life. The answer seems to be the refinement of a revolutionary, water management technique. Yet beyond such technical prowess, this documentary provides a unique look to discover a unique way of life; but also the pre-Islamic religious beliefs of this milieu.

Special care has been taken by International Historic Films to assemble this monumental documentary, which tells the story of what is left for a people after its land has been ravaged by war. Situated between the powerful antagonists Germany and the Soviet Union, the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia bore witness to some of the most ferocious land battles of the Second World War.

Nazi propaganda film “exposes” the United States and its plans against Germany and the German people. Shows so-called signs of decay, gang-wars, slums, riots of blacks, etc. Small wonder, the comment is, that the Statue of Liberty turns it back on America.
