Spa Night
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]
Spa Night | |
---|---|
Directed by | Andrew Ahn |
Written by | Andrew Ahn |
Produced by | David Ariniello Giulia Caruso Ki Jin Kim Kelly Thomas |
Starring | Joe Seo |
Cinematography | Ki Jin Kim |
Edited by | Yannis Chalkiadakis |
Production companies | Nonetheless Productions Extraordinary Renditions |
Distributed by | Strand Releasing |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English Korean Spanish |
Plot
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
- 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
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96%, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6.80/10.[4] The site’s critics consensus reads, "In depicting one man's sexual awakening, Spa Night explores the tension between tradition and individuality with tenderness and compassion."[4] On Metacritic the film has a score of 76 out of 100 score, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
Accolades
Award | Date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston LGBT Film Festival | March 31–April 10, 2016 | Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature | Andrew Ahn | Won | [6] [7] |
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | December 23, 2016 | Best First Film | Spa Night | Nominated | [8] [9] |
GLAAD Media Awards | May 6, 2017 | Outstanding Film - Limited Release | Nominated | [10] | |
Independent Spirit Awards | February 25, 2017 | John Cassavetes Award | Andrew Ahn, David Ariniello, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Kelly Thomas | Won | [11] [12] |
Someone to Watch Award | Andrew Ahn | Nominated | |||
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival | May 26–June 5, 2016 | Best First Feature | Won | [13] [14] | |
Nashville Film Festival | April 14–23, 2016 | New Directors Competition | Nominated | [15] [16] [17] | |
Outfest Los Angeles | July 7–17, 2016 | Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Performance | Joe Seo | Won | [18] |
Philadelphia Film Festival | October 20–30, 2016 | Best First Feature | Andrew Ahn | Nominated | [19] [20] |
San Diego Asian Film Festival | November 3–12, 2016 | George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award | Won | [21] | |
Sundance Film Festival | January 21–31, 2016 | Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance | Joe Seo | Won | [3] [2] |
Grand Jury Prize Dramatic | Andrew Ahn | Nominated |
References
- "'Spa Night': Sundance Review". Hollywood Reporter. January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- "Sundance Institute Announces Films In Competition and NEXT for 2016 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Film Festival. December 2, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Chang, Justin (January 31, 2016). "Sundance: The Birth of a Nation Sweeps Top Prizes". Variety. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- "Spa Night (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- "Spa Night reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- "Spa Night". Taiwan International Queer Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Nadeau, James (April 17, 2016). "2016 Jury Award Winners!". Boston LGBT Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- "'Moonlight' Leads 2016 Florida Film Critics Awards Nominations". Florida Film Critics. December 20, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Morgenstern, Hans (December 23, 2016). "2016 Ffcc Award Winners". Florida Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Knapp, JD (May 6, 2017). "28th GLAAD Media Awards: Complete List of Winners". Variety. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Earl, William (February 25, 2017). "2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Full Winners List". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Gavieres, Jayna (February 25, 2017). "2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Winners Announced!". Film Independent. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- "Spa Night". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- "Festival Awards". Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- "2016 Nashville Film Festival" (PDF). nashvillefilmfestival.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Robert, Mackenzie. "Nashville Film Festival Announces Features in Competition". Nashville Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- "2016 Feature Award Winners". Nashville Film Festival. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- Kilday, Gregg (July 17, 2016). "Outfest Award Winners Revealed as Andrew Ahn's 'Spa Night' Takes Grand Jury Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- Cummings, Sinead (October 5, 2016). "Check out the full lineup for the 25th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philly Voice. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- "PFF25 Program Guide" (PDF). Philadelphia Film Festival. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- "Festival Awards". Pac Arts. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
External links
- Spa Night at IMDb
- Spa Night at Rotten Tomatoes
- Spa Night at Metacritic