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
Film poster
Directed byAndrew Ahn
Written byAndrew Ahn
Produced byDavid Ariniello
Giulia Caruso
Ki Jin Kim
Kelly Thomas
StarringJoe Seo
CinematographyKi Jin Kim
Edited byYannis Chalkiadakis
Production
companies
Nonetheless Productions
Extraordinary Renditions
Distributed byStrand Releasing
Release dates
  • January 24, 2016 (2016-01-24) (Sundance)
  • August 19, 2016 (2016-08-19) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
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

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
Date Award Category Nominee Result
May 6, 2017 GLAAD Media Awards[6] Outstanding Film - Limited Release Nominated
February 25, 2017 Independent Spirit Awards[7] John Cassavetes Award Andrew Ahn, David Ariniello, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Kelly Thomas Won
Someone to Watch Award Andrew Ahn Nominated
December 23, 2016 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards[8] Best First Film Nominated
November 3-12, 2016 San Diego Asian Film Festival[9] George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award Andrew Ahn Won
October 20-30, 2016 Philadelphia Film Festival[10] Best First Feature Nominated
July 7-17, 2016 L.A. Outfest[11] Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Performance Joe Seo Won
May 26-June 5, 2016 Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival[12] Best First Feature Andrew Ahn Won
April 19, 2016 Nashville Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Nominated
April 8, 2016 Boston LGBT Film Festival[13] Best Narrative Feature Won
January 21-31, 2016 Sundance Film Festival[3] Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance Joe Seo Won
Grand Jury Prize Dramatic Andrew Ahn Nominated

References
  1. "'Spa Night': Sundance Review". Hollywood Reporter. January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  2. "Sundance: Competition and Next Films Announced for 2016 Festival". Sundance. December 2, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  3. "Sundance: The Birth of a Nation Sweeps Top Prizes". Variety. January 31, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  4. "Spa Night (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  5. "Spa Night reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  6. Knapp, JD (May 6, 2017). "28th GLAAD Media Awards: Complete List of Winners". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  7. Earl, William (February 25, 2017). "2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Full Winners List". IndieWire. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  8. "'Moonlight' Leads 2016 Florida Film Critics Awards Nominations". Florida Film Critics. December 20, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  9. "2016 Award Winners". Pac Arts. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  10. Cummings, Sinead (October 5, 2016). "Check out the full lineup for the 25th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philly Voice. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  11. Kilday, Gregg (July 17, 2016). "Outfest Award Winners Revealed as Andrew Ahn's 'Spa Night' Takes Grand Jury Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  12. "Spa Night". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  13. "Spa Night". Taiwan International Queer Film Festival. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
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