Tag Archives: Immigrant

First Cow (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two men and a cow in the Wild West

Posted on July 21, 2020 by

Kelly Reichardt’s latest film “First Cow” lingers on my mind more than expected. While seemingly plain and modest in terms of story and characters, this little period drama constantly engaged me via its palpable realism and elegant storytelling, and I … Continue reading →

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Spelling the Dream (2020) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Breaking the Bee

Posted on June 10, 2020 by

Netflix documentary “Spelling the Dream”, which is also known as “Breaking the Bee”, examines one interesting current ethnic trend of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but it only comes to scratch the surface in the end. Although it is fairly … Continue reading →

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Tigertail (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): A low-key immigrant drama from Netflix

Posted on April 14, 2020 by

Netflix film “Tigertail” is a modest but engaging immigrant drama to be appreciated for its subtle human moments. As delicately revolving around its immigrant hero’s life story, the movie slowly lets us understand what he has sacrificed and suppressed for … Continue reading →

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The Other Side of Hope (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another deadpan film from Kaurismäki

Posted on December 12, 2017 by

I remember well when I watched Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre” (2011) during one cold evening of 2011 December. I watched it at a local arthouse theater which was as freezing as the outside, and I remember well when the theater … Continue reading →

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Spa Night (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): A somber, tentative gay drama in Koreatown

Posted on May 7, 2016 by

“Spa Night” puts itself in the middle of an ethnic community area in LA both familiar and foreign to me. As this small exceptional independent movie let me assess its specific, intimate details with curiosity and amusement, I was involved … Continue reading →

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Chinese Take-Away (2011) ☆☆☆(3/4): When things happen to him

Posted on April 24, 2016 by

The opening scene of Argentine film “Chinese Take-Away” looks so absurd that you will not believe that, as shown during the end credits, this darkly comic moment is actually inspired by a truly bizarre real-life incident. Yes, such incidents like … Continue reading →

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Dheepan (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : New identity, new place, and new family

Posted on November 3, 2015 by

Can they adapt themselves to their new identities? Can they settle together in a world new and alien to them? And, above all, can they accept each other as someone more than an accomplice? Through three strangers who happen to … Continue reading →

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Goodbye Solo (2008) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : An unlikely friendship between two different people

Posted on April 9, 2015 by

Through its simple but thoughtful storytelling, “Goodbye Solo” slowly draws us into its intimate human drama. At the beginning, we are put right into the ongoing conversation between its two main characters, and they cannot possibly look more different from … Continue reading →

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The Salvation (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Western Revenge

Posted on March 6, 2015 by

“The Salvation” looks and feels like an authentic American western film, and you will probably be surprised to know that it was actually made by a Danish director in South Africa. Drive by its terse storytelling coupled with harsh, remorseless … Continue reading →

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The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) ☆☆(2/4) : A sweet but mellow cuisine conflict

Posted on February 1, 2015 by

  “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a sweet but mellow cuisine conflict which gets clumsily overcooked during its first half and then gets tediously undercooked during its second half. I like some ingredients of its main course, and it is surely … Continue reading →

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