''Spa Night'' is a 2016 American

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Andrew Ahn (in his feature directorial debut). It stars Joe Seo, Haerry Kim, and Youn Ho Cho. It centers on a closeted

Korean-American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

teenager who, living with his financially struggling immigrant parents, chances upon a secret cruising spot when he takes a job at an all-male

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on January 24, 2016, where Seo won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. It was given a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States on August 19, 2016, by

Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong W ...

. It received positive reviews from critics, and won the John Cassavetes Award at the 32nd Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot

David, an 18-year-old living in

Koreatown, Los Angeles Koreatown (, Latn, ko, Koriataun) is a Neighborhoods of Los Angeles, neighborhood in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth and Irolo streets. Koreans began immigrating in larger numbers in the 1960s and found housing in the Mi ...

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

Reception

Critical response

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described ''Spa Night'' as "a contemplation of the loneliness, tension and anxiety of outsiders pursuing a piece of the American dream" and "a looming family tragedy of immigrants desperately trying to maintain a foothold in an oppressive, upwardly mobile and conformist subculture." Sheri Linden of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the film "erotically charged, quietly devastating" and praised that Seo's "sensitive lead performance affectingly expresses the tension between tradition and personal identity." Nigel M. Smith of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and remarked, "Ahn's muted approach to his material, coupled with the passivity of the film's lead character, leaves ''Spa Night'' feeling too cold to fully engage." Smith also commented, "Despite its setting and Korean American cast, ''Spa Night'' unfurls in a largely expected manner." Boyd van Hoeij of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' stated, "Ahn subtly teases out his protagonist's inner struggle, often by letting David interact with the small but fine-grained gallery of supporting characters." Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' opined, "Cruising is a tricky dynamic to capture onscreen, and ''Spa Night'' only partially succeeds, concerned more with David's bystander curiosity than the sophisticated nonverbal seduction going on around him. Then again, Ahn doesn't aim to sensationalize." Kate Erbland of '' IndieWire'' gave the film a grade of "B-" and noted, "The beautifully lensed drama is, like its protagonist, compelled and often obsessed by the human shape and form, and Ahn's film artfully uses the physical to tell a mostly standard issue coming-of-age story with style." Sheila O'Malley of '' RogerEbert.com'' gave ''Spa Night'' 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "The film is admirable in presenting the issues a gay kid faces in an extremely specific environment, and for resisting a more conventional storyline."

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spa Night 2016 films 2016 directorial debut films 2016 drama films 2016 independent films 2016 LGBTQ-related films 2016 multilingual films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s Korean-language films 2010s coming-of-age drama films 2010s LGBTQ-related drama films American coming-of-age drama films American independent films American LGBTQ-related films American multilingual films Asian-American drama films Asian-American LGBTQ-related films English-language drama films English-language independent films Korean-language drama films Gay-related films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age drama films LGBTQ-related independent films Films about families Films about Korean Americans Films directed by Andrew Ahn Films set in Koreatown, Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles John Cassavetes Award winners Sundance Film Festival award–winning films