Overview Details As he stands on the cusp of adulthood, David Cho is living with his first-generation immigrant family in Los Angeles' Koreatown. To help them when money gets tight, David takes a job at a Korean spa, where he discovers an erotic new world of gay sex. Cast Joe Seo, Haerry Kim, Youn Ho Cho, Tae Song, Ho Young Chung, Linda Han, Eric Jeong, Janice Pak, Angie Kim, Kahyun Kim Director Andrew Ahn Genres Drama, LGBT Dramas, Foreign Dramas Moods Understated Format DVD Screen Widescreen 1. 78:1 Subtitles English, English SDH CC No Audio English: Dolby Digital 5. 1 Rating NR - Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.
January 2, 2017 Although Seo and Ahn are able to tap into David's confusion and agony -- especially when filtered through the lens of his damningly hopeful parents -- there's never much more to David (or his story) than that. November 29, 2016 Ahn and cinematographer Ki Jin Kim work with levels of color and quiet stylization that gently nudge the film into sweet moments of cinematic subjectivity. November 4, 2016 he movie is packed with dramatic inner rhymes and startling colour shifts that convey the challenges and pleasures of breaking away from your parents, even if -- especially if -- you love them. September 29, 2016 Writer-director Andrew Ahn has made a confident, assured, low-key debut that's a textbook example of how to make a compelling small-budget movie. September 28, 2016 Coming out as queer is always a difficult process, as is making an interesting movie about coming out in 2016, but Andrew Ahn's meditative Spa Night pulls it off. August 25, 2016 The assured feature debut by Andrew Ahn is also the story of a young gay man's sexual awakening, and its sensitive lead performance affectingly expresses the tension between tradition and personal identity.
He lives in a hothouse bell-jar of his own unspoken yearnings, stealing glances at naked men emerging from the sauna, realizing that hook-ups are happening all around him. Those who expect the story to unfold in the conventional way, with a hidden love affair, or sexual liaison, with his parents "finding out, " may be disappointed at the film's focus on yearning, as opposed to acting. Haerry Kim and Youn Ho Cho as David's parents are superb, and it is astonishing that this is Cho's first credit. What a performance! David's father is emasculated by his failure to provide for his family and for David's future. He reacts by getting drunk every night. His heart is broken. He explodes at David at one point: "We didn't move here so you could move furniture! Go to college! Get a girlfriend! Get out! " "Spa Night" is as much the story of David and his parents' struggles as new immigrants, cut off from family back home, as it is about David's sexuality. There are a couple of drawbacks to the film's deliberate slow pace.
Spa Night 2016 Critics Consensus In depicting one man's sexual awakening, Spa Night explores the tension between tradition and individuality with tenderness and compassion. 96% TOMATOMETER Total Count: 25 59% Audience Score User Ratings: 263 Spa Night Ratings & Reviews Explanation Photos Movie Info A closeted Korean-American teenager follows his desires and finds more than he bargains for at a Korean spa. Genre: drama Original Language: Korean Director: Producer: Writer: Release Date (Theaters): Aug 19, 2016 limited Release Date (Streaming): Mar 6, 2017 Box Office (Gross USA): $37. 5K Runtime: 1h 37m Production Co: Strand Releasing Cast & Crew News & Interviews for Spa Night Critic Reviews for Spa Night Audience Reviews for Spa Night Spa Night Quotes Movie & TV guides
Spa Night Film poster Directed by Andrew Ahn Written by Andrew Ahn Starring Joe Seo Release date January 24, 2016 ( Sundance) Running time 93 minutes Country United States Language English Korean Spa Night is a 2016 American drama film directed by Andrew Ahn and starring Joe Seo. [1] It was shown in the U. S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. [2] At Sundance, Joe Seo won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. [3] Plot [ edit] David, an 18-year-old living in Koreatown, Los Angeles becomes an employee at a spa to help his financially struggling parents. He soon discovers illicit gay sex between the customers, which forces him to consider his own sexuality. While this has been described as a coming out story, the focus is on the internal world of David, and his deep struggles and uncertainty, as a teenager, about how to be a good son but how to also be himself in what is a conservative family and rigid community. Cast [ edit] Joe Seo as David Haerry Kim as Soyoung Youn Ho Cho as Jin Tae Song as Eddie Ho Young Chung as Spa Manager Linda Han as Mrs. Baek Eric Jeong as Peter Yong Kim as Academy Director Critical response [ edit] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94%, based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.
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Spa Night, his first feature, was workshopped in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Ahn is an alum of Film Independent's Project Involve. He graduated from Brown University and received an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.
August 17, 2016 Though it's a shade too vague, Spa Night does a fine job of articulating the existential ennui of someone who loves his parents but knows he can never be what they were expecting. There are no haters here, no bullies, and the only real enemy is the self-repression that plagues the shy, closeted Korean Angeleno teenager at its center. August 14, 2016 It recombines elements of the emigrant saga and the coming-of-age story into a searching, fresh-faced portrait. Page 1 of 2
As David dares to explore his sexuality, his family life crumbles, forcing him to reconcile his own desires with his parents' hopes, dreams, and expectations. Joe Seo shines in the role of David, as he grapples with a percolating yet forbidden sexual awakening. With this feature debut, writer/director Andrew Ahn, like his main character, is on the brink of something big. YEAR 2015 SECTION U. Dramatic COUNTRY U. A. RUN TIME 93 min LANGUAGE English and Korean SUBTITLES Yes with English subtitles COMPANY Nonetheless Productions & Extraordinary Renditions EMAIL PHONE (323) 240-7187 Credits Director Andrew Ahn Screenwriter Producer David Ariniello Giulia Caruso Ki Jin Kim Kelly Thomas Cinematographer Editor Yannis Chalkiadakis Production Designer Hyein Ki Sound Designer John Warrin Costume Designer Emily Moran Casting Director Julia Kim Actor Joe Seo Haerry Kim Youn Ho Cho Tae Song Ho Young Chung Linda Han Artist Bio Andrew Ahn is a Korean American filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles. His short film Dol (First Birthday) premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and screened at numerous other festivals and venues around the world.