The Motel (film)
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by Ed Lin
Karin Chien
Matthew Greenfield
Gina Kwon
| The Motel | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Kang |
| Written by | Michael Kang |
| Based on | Waylaid by Ed Lin |
| Produced by | Miguel Arteta Karin Chien Matthew Greenfield Gina Kwon |
| Starring | Jeffrey Chyau Sung Kang Jade Wu Samantha Futerman |
| Cinematography | Lisa Leone |
| Edited by | David Leonard Colleen Sharp |
| Music by | Nathan Larson |
Production company | Flan de Coco Films |
| Distributed by | Palm Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 76 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Cantonese |
The Motel is a 2005 American comedy drama film written and directed by Michael Kang in his feature debut. The film won the Humanitas Prize in the Independent Feature Film category, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.
It is loosely based on the novel Waylaid by Ed Lin.
Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin's life is devoted to working at his family's hourly-rate motel, where a steady stream of prostitutes, johns, and various other shady characters come and go. Abandoned by his father, he lives with his mother, grandfather, and younger sister Katie. The film is a loosely assembled series of vignettes examining the difficulty of adolescence. Recurring themes include painful encounters with a bully named Roy and Ernest's persistent feelings of being misunderstood by his family. Ernest also blindly explores his incipient sexuality, which includes nursing a crush on Christine, an older girl who works at a Chinese restaurant nearby. Ernest's life changes after he meets the newest guest at the motel: a self-destructive yet charming Korean-American man named Sam Kim, who is caught in a downward spiral after estrangement from his wife.
Cast
- Jeffrey Chyau as Ernest Chin
- Sung Kang as Sam Kim
- Jade Wu as Ama Chin
- Samantha Futerman as Christine
- Alexis Chang as Katie Chin
- Stephen Cheng as Gung Gung
Production
Michael Kang first met Ed Lin during their time together in a performance troupe, where Kang learned about Lin's plans to write The Motel when it was still in short story form.[2] Kang said he was "inspired by the idea of exploring the worst place to go through puberty. A sleazy motel surrounded by sex seemed about the worst possible setting."[2] Kang developed the script at the 2002 Sundance Writing and Directing Lab, where filmmaker Miguel Arteta was one of his mentors.[3] Arteta would later sign on as one of the film's producers.[3]
Of his adaptation of Lin's work, Kang said, "The two are like Rashomon companion pieces. We each deal with the subject of sexuality with unique voices and attitudes. When it came time to finish the film, I felt like it was good to put a 'based on' credit for the book despite the differences. If the movie helps inspire someone to pick up a book or realize that more than just one Asian American artist exists out there, I thought that would be a good thing."[4]
After a six-month search to find someone to play Ernest, Kang cast Jeffrey Chyau after finding him through a Columbia University after-school program.[4]
Release
The film debuted at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It was later given a limited release on June 28, 2006.[5]
The Motel was promoted through grassroots campaigning, including through word-of-mouth and handing out flyers at theaters. Kang promoted the film through the blog pubertysucks.com,[6] the film's official site, and a page on social networking platform Myspace.[7] Leading up to the film's American premiere at New York's Film Forum, Kang also recorded a series of podcasts that gave insight into the making of the film. The podcasts were shared on Film Forum's website.[7]