Tag Archives: Immigrant

Minari (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A South Korean immigrant family in the middle of Arkansas

Posted on February 28, 2021 by kaist455

“Minari”, whose title means water dropwort in Korean, is a simple but profoundly intimate piece of work to remember. While it is quite specific in terms of background and characters, it also works as a universal American immigrant family drama … Continue reading →

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Farewell Amor (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): Still separated from each other

Posted on December 28, 2020 by kaist455

“Farewell Amor”, which is currently available on MUBI, is a small but intimate emigrant drama about three good people struggling with the widening personal gaps among them. As the movie calmly and sensitively observes them one by one, we get … Continue reading →

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Antigone (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A provocative modern adaptation of one classic tragedy

Posted on November 29, 2020 by kaist455

Canadian film “Antigone”, which won the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film in last year, was an interesting experience for me in more than one aspect. While I sometime felt frustrated with its young heroine’s inexorable stubbornness, … Continue reading →

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Los Lobos (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Wolves Don’t Cry

Posted on August 10, 2020 by kaist455

Mexican film “Los Lobos”, which won Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury in addition to the Peace Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival early in last year, is a modest but undeniably extraordinary film mainly revolving … Continue reading →

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

Posted on July 21, 2020 by kaist455

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 kaist455

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 kaist455

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 kaist455

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 kaist455

“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 kaist455

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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