Ms. Purple
From award-winning filmmaker Justin Chon (GOOK, 2017), MS. PURPLE is a poignant drama about sister and brother, Kasie (Tiffany Chu) and Carey (Teddy Lee), who were raised and are now seemingly stuck in Koreatown. Abandoned by their mother and brought up by their father, the siblings continue to struggle with profound emotional wounds from the difficulty of the parental dynamic. Now, with their father on his death bed, the estranged Carey comes home to help Kasie care for him. Old ties are renewed and a relationship restored in this vibrant, deeply affecting portrait of Asian American siblinghood in Los Angeles.
Director:
Justin Chon
Cast:
Jake Choi, Tiffany Chu, Mark Krenik
Screenplay:
Justin Chon, Chris Dinh (co-writer)
Screening Date:
Sep 07, 2019
Studio:
Oscilloscope
Running Time:
1 hour 27 min.
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.7% | 10.6% | 12.7% | 42.5% | 21.2% |
“I believe that this movie was really good. Justin Chon’s range
was amazing. Spanning from camera work, the location shots,
dramatically recurring music, etc. The overall feel of the movie
leaves one on the edge of their seat. Absolutely powerful!”
“A stunning, lyrical, gorgeous moving family portrait from the
point of view of a young woman. Sumptuous cinematography,
soundtrack and acting.”
“Wonderfully crafted, image filled sequences loaded with
meaning. Even a Karaoke bar is a metaphor for “imitating and
copying” and having no voice of your own.”
“An uncompromising look at a dysfunctional family and by
extension a displaced culture. In a time of absurd immigration
laws this is a visually stunning examination of growing up in a
time and place other than your own.”
“It was a difficult movie to watch and hard to understand the
symbolism and to follow the flashbacks. At times felt like a
horror movie.”
“Soundtrack was too uneven, mixed too loud at times. Music
soaring and dialogue low. A jarring film, visually and story wise.
Quite an extraordinary look inside a young Asian woman’s
clawing through life. Disturbing look at misplaced obligation
and longing in the Korean culture forward to home and
belonging.”
“Pushing a comatose father in a bed down the streets to a
video game parlor is a remarkable image. But hey, the son is
there, he’s caring for the father, yet in a totally irresponsibly
way. I’m as confused as he is.”
“Depressing, yes but haunting as well. Her life is not the
American dream her parents had envisioned.”
“The music was too loud!”
“I was not comfortable with the brother/sister relationship. It
was over the top.”
“I found this movie garbled at times, creepy and both overdone
on the sound and editing and direction and underdone on the
craft of plot. Too little is given or shown to us about the
characters and story. I found the ending a mess. Artful, but not
recommend at all.”
“Way too slow. Took too long to get to the point. Plot too
complicated. Character development was convoluted! Bad
script development.”
“Terrible, no story, music was horrific. Should have slept in!
Bad way to start the season.”
“Depressing, thanks for the nap! Hopefully the films can’t get
worse.”
“This film was heavy with mood, but devoid of the facts, details
and information about the characters and family dynamics to
make us care. What happened between the mother and
father? Why was she so loyal to her father? Why was the
brother so sullen? It would have helped to know this stuff.”
“Does Kasie have no friends of her own? Presenting and
examining her bleak life makes for a bleak film. While I feel for
both brother and sister the final sequence of a father wishing
them a good night was not exactly uplifting.”
If you'd like to know more about the film...
Asian culture has become more prominent and popular in film and tv through out the past few years. Movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Always Be My Maybe have recieved an abundance of positive attention and are big break throughs for representation of Asian culture and communities. Here are a couple light-hearted and lesser known tv shows that represent asian culture and families and what it is like to be an immigrant from a comedic perspective. Both are highly reccomended by viewers.
- Kim's Convenience: available on Netflix and Prime Video https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3551096/?ref_=tt_sims_tt
- Fresh Off The Boat: Available on Hulu and Prime Video, airs on ABC https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5912064/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt
Justin Chon (Director) discusses Ms. Purple, the brother-sister relationship and color choices/cinematography, and cultural baggage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9l2J7zA2j4
Cast interview: Tiffany Chu (Kasie) discusses her character and director Justin Chon comments on the importance of representing the Korean and asian communities through film and how we as a society need to better coexist and learn about one another. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bwRm93t2Tk
Short article on Ms. Purple and why it is resonate and important: https://www.weareresonate.com/2019/09/ms-purple-director-justin-chon-crazy-rich-asians-doesnt-represent-the-majority-of-asian-americans/
