The years have worn out Tang Zhijun (Yang Haoyu, Dead Pigs), the editor-in-chief of the foremost space exploration magazine in China. His entire life is now a paean to a space age long gone. When he hears of a collective UFO sighting in a remote village called Burning Nest, he glimpses a possibility for redemption. Flanked by a cynical staffer, a drunk and an insomniac groupie, he journeys westward to the Daliang Mountains of Sichuan to face the truth about the universe and himself!

‍Journey to the West transposes the classical tale referenced by its title to a group of new-age eccentrics fit for the times: seen here going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of their own convictions. Unfolding in the great tradition of the workplace mockumentary, Kong’s film is a delightfully deadpan road movie and a bold counterpoint to the recent blockbuster films of Frant Gwo (Wandering Earth I & II) – who serves here as an executive producer.