Review of West 32nd (2007) by Lanning : — 17 May 2010

If these folks had had a bigger budget, I'm sure this would have been an even better show. Still, it's very good. I'm fascinated by upwards of 50% of this movie, based in K-Town, Queens, NY, utilizing the Korean language, and by the fact that John Cho, both in real life and in the film, is barely able to speak the language.

This Americanization and the distancing from one's heritage plays a key role in keeping Cho's character always slightly outside, always slightly "other." Of course this is ironic, since Cho represents mainstream America, and the payoff with this cultural distancing is that Cho distances himself not only from his Korean-ness but right out of mainstream humanity in the end.

West 32nd Street is the main strip, the heart of K-Town in Queens, and Cho's venture into this heart ultimately means that he destroys his own heart. Probably my favorite aspect of this whole story is the tribute paid to Bittersweet Life -- definitely one of my all-time favorite Korean films.

I watched this three times -- the final time with the commentary on. It takes a lot nowadays to get me to watch a movie more than once.