This movie was unexpectedly quite a lot better than I had anticipated. It has a feel good nostalgic feeling to it. I wanted to watch a korean film after getting addicted to K-Drama, but I guess the long long episodes of Drama series just made me get used to dislike short and quick movie scripts HAHA.
But those things aside, you'll enjoy it.
Seoul Searching
2015
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music / Romance
Seoul Searching
2015
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music / Romance
Plot summary
In the 1980s a group of foreign-born Korean teenagers who meet at a Seoul summer camp to learn what it means to be Korean. The three boys, from the U.S., Mexico, and Germany, then meet three girls who rock their world.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
April 04, 2021 at 10:24 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Quite a FEEL-GOOD and simple story! Liked it quite a lot surprisingly.
Powerful
As one born in the same year as Director Benson Lee and having been raised in the west coast of the United States, I fully appreciated the homage to John Hughes films and the BRILLIANT soundtrack. I was positively thrilled/comforted to hear it, especially the Jesus and Mary Chain, Erasure, and that long lost song by Q Lazzarus.
I grew up on John Hughes films, but never thought I'd ever see a film that spoke straight to my heart with characters that not only look like me, but were also talking about what it is to be Korean, as an adoptee. The Korean adoptee storyline broke my heart, then put it back again. Rosalina Leigh gave her character the right mix of sadness, surprise, and confusion. And don't get me started about the woman who played her birth mother...
I've seen many amazing films made by Korean adoptees (among them, First Person Plural by Deann Borshay Liem) which feature reunions and/or issues with birth mothers. I was a bit concerned about a fictional portrayal of this reunion, but I was pleasantly surprised at how it was handled. The performance between the character Kris and her birth mother left me absolutely gutted. Also, Cha In-Pyo was predictably solid and charismatic. There were extremely clever ways in which Benson Lee portrayed the both the growth and evolution of these characters.
There were many true to the 80's references with the various characters portrayed. One may say there were scenes that were a bit over the top, I still think that this film brought key themes to the minds and hearts of the audience. And while applicable and relevant to many Korean-Americans, this film has the power to grab the attention and heartstrings of a global audience. I have no doubt that this film will be cherished both with a domestic and global audience.
Well-done, Benson Lee and cast. Thank you especially for including the Korean adoptee story line. You've made my 80's film nostalgia complete and with a kick ass soundtrack, no less.
Full of Humor, Heritage, and Heart.
Think Breakfast Club meets American Pie meets Korean drama. Silly but surprisingly able to pack in a lot with good amount of heart. Smart fun writing that understands Koreans (according to my Korean-American wife), plus a great 80's soundtrack and it's on Netflix...for now!