Running on Karma

Big, once a Buddhist monk, discovers he can glimpse past lives and foresee how karma guides destinies. This awakening pushes him away from the monastery and into a worldly life as a bodybuilder performing at a strip bar. The newfound power becomes the thread that ties the rest of the story together.

At the strip bar, fate collides with undercover CID officer Lee Fung-yee, and their paths cross as she pursues criminals. Big’s unusual talent draws attention from law enforcement and sparks a fragile partnership, even as he keeps his distance. The encounter plants the seed for a complicated alliance built on mutual curiosity and caution.

During a pursuit by a police dog, Big experiences his first clear vision of a past life—the dog’s own history includes a child who harmed other dogs. The vision confirms his ability to connect present danger with ancient deeds. He begins to sense that memories can foretell threats and guide choices.

Visions expand when Big sees Lee’s past life as a Japanese soldier who harmed civilians, a history that weighs on her conscience. Despite this heavy burden, he senses her kind heart and chooses to help in a homicide investigation. He vows to withdraw once justice is served, testing that vow against his growing sense of duty.

The investigation unfolds through echoes of previous lives: the deceased betrayed a man in a former incarnation, and in this life the killer seeks to repay that debt with blood. Big uses these echoes to guide the police toward the killer and to map a pattern of revenge spanning lifetimes. The threads tighten around the present crime.

Big witnesses the murderer’s earlier act of severing the left arm of a one-horn beetle in a past life, a clue pointing to a present-day figure with a missing left arm who will become pivotal to solving the case. The symbolic link deepens the connection between past and present. The discovery sharpens the detective work and moral stakes.

Armed with the visions, Big helps the police close in on the killer and, in the process, saves Lee’s life from imminent danger. The collaboration deepens as his sight becomes a tool for justice. The incident confirms that his gift can protect rather than destroy.

During a tense moment, a furious sergeant is silenced by Big’s calm wisdom as he contrasts Heaven and Hell. The scene crystallizes the film’s core themes of karma, choice, and forgiveness. The exchange shifts the tone from anger to contemplation within the investigation.

Lee pursues the killer into the mountains as part of her atonement for past sins, trekking toward a remote peak. The confrontation on the mountains tests her resolve and leads to the deadly revelation about the killer’s origins tied to Big’s childhood friend. The harsh landscape becomes the stage for a moral reckoning.

On the sixth day of the trek, Lee is struck and beheaded, and the brutal act is captured on her video camera. A search party later discovers her body, and Lee’s loss drives Big to follow the trail into the mountains. The incident becomes the catalyst for the temple confrontation and a confrontation with fate.

Big tracks the killer into an underground temple and encounters a version of himself—his future, bloodthirsty self. The two clash, but the moment ends not with more violence but with a meditation that brings understanding. The encounter reframes revenge as reconciliation rather than victory.

Big renounces violence and returns to the mountain monastery, beginning a quiet period of contemplation. Five years later he encounters the killer again and chooses mercy, guiding him toward the proper path and handing him to the police. The story closes on a note of compassion and karmic balance that transcends vengeance.