Spa Night

I have seen quite a few LGBT films, and while many are very poorly done and have been cheesier than I care to admit, this film is somewhat more impressive in that nothing much happens, at least nothing that hasn't been done in other films. The movie is SLOW, and deals with the family drama of losing a business, and having a closeted son in the Asian culture over actually being a "gay" movie. This film does plenty of things right; the acting is superb, the use of language is handled in a very interesting way (it's great seeing Korean actors speaking Spanish), and a lot of the cinematography was top notch. But for a lot of the film, nothing much happens. They eat, he "studies", they drink, they eat, they fight, etc. But not much is really shown about being gay. It's really a story about a young boy figuring himself out, not having any life experience, and making the most out of a very difficult situation.

Overall, this film kept my interest to the end, but I would not recommend it to anyone, least of all anyone looking for a real insight into the closeted Asian mindset. If anything, it is an exercise in restraint, and aside from some very tame sex scenes, it really could have been a made for TV film. It also ends abruptly, and you never really get any closure. I was just not happy with the final product. For a directorial debut, it could use with a better editor and some punch-ups in the writing department. That being said, this is simply an average film that could have been something much more if they didn't restrain themselves so much. It's almost like everyone involved had no real idea what it's like to be gay in Los Angeles, which is unfortunate.

A note to the creative team; This is an adult film. Start treating your audience like adults.

Beautifully shot and very well made on a truly micro budget, this story of a gay 2nd generation teen Korean coming of age in Los Angeles gains from it's intelligent production, attention to detail and unusual cultural setting, but also loses something in it's extremely familiar basic story of adolescence as well as in being so cold in it's lead actor's effect-less nature and the character's almost wordless personality. Add that with the film's distanced style and there ultimately is more to admire here than to be deeply emotionally engaged in. It's also not helpful that while Joe Seo underplays right to the edge of disappearing as David, our protagonist, some in supporting roles overplay to the point of near caricature. Neither extreme might have felt off putting in a film where the acting was more of a piece. But having the two styles next to each other was too often a reminder I was watching a film played by actors, not real human beings. Also, while I have no idea how old Joe Seo is, he looks far older than the high-school student he's supposed to be, which also took something away from feeling for the character's youthful confusion and ennui.

None-the-less, for all that carping I'm very glad I saw the film, and in Ahn's delicate use of imagery there were a good number of poetic moments that captured the painful and joyful confusion of finding one's adult self starting to emerge, even when that self puts you on a cultural collision course with your both your parents and your community.

If not the best coming of age film of recent years, it's at least a worthy addition to that admittedly overcrowded genre.

This movie has no beginning nor end. There is minimal dialog and everyone just seems to try to stare their fellow cast members to death. It's obviously low budget with some of the scenes appearing to have been filmed with an iPhone. The scenes appear to be stuck together randomly, sometimes being relevant to the previous or subsequent one, most times not. Some of the scenes are totally non-contributory to the overall story. The objective of the film must be to try and create a dream like narrative in which all the characters seem to drift through life just staring at one another. As another comment has stated.....avoid at all costs!

This is a very nuanced, subtle film. I know some people felt the ending was "uneventful," but I thought it was a smart way to end the messiness of David and his double existence. Definite recommend for fans of low key cinema.

David is a second-generation gay Korean-American only child. His parents are not successful though they have been hardworking. Davids of college age but not really college material and David is feeling those pressures plus the growing realization that he's gay.

When his parents lose their restaurant David secretly takes a job to help his struggling parents and if it's in a men's sauna, well at least he can begin to study his other concern...

The story is interesting but the cultural differences made some parts a bit tough to understand for this entirely occidental viewer. While I was interested in David's dilemma, the unresolved nature of the ending was a bit unsatisfying.