Spa Night

How grateful we may be that enterprising young creative types are taking chances on new directions for our films. Writer/director Andrew Ahn has made a fine debut film, "Spa Night," about a handsome young Korean-American, David (Joe Sao), who, to help out his immigrant parents after their restaurant business closes down, takes on grunt work in a Koreatown health spa.

While working the night shift, he quickly learns about his gay feelings, letting his imagination run rampant while he protects himself from acts which would cause scandal and shame if he were to be discovered, outed, and fired.

His father, Jin (Young Ho Cho), is failing in this cultural move to America, and his strong-willed mother, Soyoung (Haerry Kim), able to pick up the financial slack brought on by Jin's inability to face up to his reality, does what she can to advance David's future. Through a connection with a church lady friend, Mrs. Baek (Linda Han) -- a wealthy owner of a successful restaurant -- she makes sure David is befriended by her son, Eddie (Tae Song), to help him find a way to enroll at the expensive University of Southern California.

Not so much a coming out story, or even a gay romantic tale, it's very much about how first generation immigrant children have to negotiate the path between honoring traditions from their original cultures and the one they are born into here.

Ahn does a credible job showing young David's dilemma over acknowledging his true sexuality and not shaming his parents with it. It's a beautifully-written script, sensitively shot (by Ki Jin Kim) and edited (by veteran Yannis Chalkiadakis), with competent actors bringing it all alive.

His use of male nudity is subdued and non-risqu�, but accurate, for which we may be thankful. Ahn's film is intelligent and non-exploitive, a sweet and casually sexual drama.

"Spa Night"
DVD
$17.99
www.strandreleasing.com