Showtimes
May 26 | 7:30 pm
May 28 | 7:00 pm
Riceboy Sleeps
| Director | Anthony Shim |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Year | 2022 |
| Rating | Not Rated |
| Running Time | 117 |
| Trailer Link | |
| IMDB Link |
From The Booth
"The beautifully wrought, deeply heartfelt film was named the Rogers Best Canadian Film by the Toronto Film Critics Association. It was awarded the 2022 Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s been honoured in his home province as well: the Vancouver Film Critics Circle named it Best British Columbia Film.
"As well, Riceboy Sleeps has been nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards — Shim is nominated for best director and best original screenplay, Christopher Lew for achievement in cinematography and lead actress Choi Seung-Yoon for best performance in a leading role.
"Choi Seung-Yoon stars as So-Young, who choses to leave South Korea for Canada with her young son to find a better life for both of them after her boyfriend dies. Settling in a town in British Columbia, So-Young gets herself a factory job, and drags Dong-Hyun (Dohyun Noel Hwang) off to his first day of school. Dong-Hyun is the only Asian kid in his class and is very aware of that difference...Shim keeps the film very simple, focusing on these two characters in small moments over a span of time. The film feels natural, never forced, or artificial. And yet slowly and quietly, we get a sense of who these people are and their relationship, even as things change over the years.
"Shim is helped along by a superb cast. Both young boys playing Dong-Hyun do wonderful work, but the bulk of the film focuses on the character’s teen years, and Ethan Hwang is terrific, playing a character who is quietly grappling with a sense of feeling unsettled, and questions about his identity that he can’t quite resolve.
"But the cornerstone of the movie is the performance of first-time Korean actress Choi Seung-Yoon, as So-Young. Slender, almost fragile looking, she is the source of strength that her son, and the film rest on. She’s the epitome of the strength of a mother’s love, and a character that you will not soon forget." - Karen Gordon, Original Cin.
In Korean and English with subtitles.
Highly Recommended - PH.
