Gook

Gook is a simple story about two young Korean men who run a women's shoe store during the L.A. riots in 1992. A young 11 year old black gir ,Kamilla, (played wonderfully by Simone Baker) comes along and steals their hearts. As the title implies racism is the core. I love the throwback to independent 90's cinema. The low budget black and white production,unknown cast of actors and urban angst. It captures the essence of Jim Jarmusch,Spike Lee and Kevin Smith while not quite ascribing to the level of these revolutionary film makers. Perhaps one of the flaws of this film is that it tries too hard. Chon should have been more relaxed and just let things play out like the films of the 90's that inspired him. The film is predictable. The ending could have went one of two ways and it didn't disappoint by doing just that. By all means this film is worth watching. I hope this leads to bigger and better things for all those involved but most importantly writer,director,actor Justin Chon.

I believe Gook should not be overlooked. It is a film that will not leave you cold-hearted no matter what you think of it. It is set in Paramount, 1992 just before and during the riots in South Central, Los Angeles. The storyline is very simple but it never loses momentum or becomes dull. Not many films show what it was like there during those rough times since we so often only see the glamorous side of the city presented to us by the film industry. But not everything was and is always sunny in California.

The riots were fueled by the anger of people that the justice system failed. Some might say that there are too many stereotypes presented in the film whereas I think its goal was to depict to what extremes things can go where people find themselves stuck in a place that rarely offers an escape into brighter future and others only see them as lost causes and are left on their own. You can find good and bad people everywhere but unfortunately not everyone are equal which might cloud someone's perception of things.

I would recommended it if you are looking for something different, very well acted and gripping. The direction is good and the film works well in black and white. Do not read too many reviews prior to watching it, I think it stays more fresh that way..

Watched this movie on a plane. Was intrigued since I am Asian and grew up during the L.A. riots. This movie didn't quite do it for me. The pace was too slow. Dialogue was a lot of frustrated yelling and awkward silence. If the director's intent was to make you feel character's pain and struggles, I will give him that. Plot was predictable, and although the characters did a good job displaying their full emotions on screen, it was difficult to get attached to any of them. I wasn't a fan of the black and white either, which added to my impatience in wanting the movie to end.

I have never went from loving a film to literally hating it overnight,the film GOOK is a well made piece of art that I actually really enjoyed,but upon during further research on the LA uprising I came across something really disturbing ,a little black 15 year old girl named Latasha Harlins. Learning about this little girl and how what happened to her was part of what was leading to the Uprisings, it gave me a new perspective On the film GOOK.

Suffering and misery is so intense and present throughout the film that it chokes you up. And it intensifies with every minute to eventually climax in a heartbreaking final. Well done. This touched me deeply.