Reviews & Ratings for
Motel Seoninjang More at IMDbPro »

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Motel Cactus; Catalyst in Mood..., 2 July 2005

Author: eric wobma from amsterdam

"Within limitations one will find true mastership", as the saying goes, and boy, does it fit the bill here ! Cut into 4 episodes which, on first look, are but loosely connected, and set in but one room, 407 of Motel Cactus, this film is pretty much boxed in from the outset.

Performance of the actors and the camera-work are so breathtakingly wonderful though, that these limitations become strong points ! Mood is instantaneously created and crawls under the viewer's skin; the joys and sorrows of the different characters hits home immediately.

Cinematographer Christopher Doyle refuses to see any limits here, and opens up his magic box completely: focus pulls, blinking lights, mirror shots, subtle play with shadows and burning out light sources, hand-held camera-work ... Anything goes and this creates an exciting setting for the small yet strong peeks into the lives of the visitors of Room 407 of Motel Cactus.

3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Hard to follow film about youngsters in Seoul., 21 June 2007

Author: Lalit Rao (cpowerccc@yahoo.com) from Paris, France

It is true that some reviewers have written great things about this film. However I have something different to express regarding "Motel Seoninjang". There is no doubt that it presents a novel concept. The idea of showing a film made within a "film" is fine. This is because Park Ki Yong tried his hand at depicting something different. However there is a serious problem with this film as it runs out of steam too soon. This is because there is very little coherence between what is being filmed and what the director intended to portray. As far as the erotic elements are concerned, to my mind they are too fake, arty and simply pretentious. This is not only my reaction but many other viewers felt it too when they saw this film at an Asian Film Festival. A similar hard to understand style can be found in Park Ki Yong's another film called "Camels". Sorry to disappoint all animal lovers but there were no camels at all in that particular film.

Rain and mirrors., 15 April 2012

Author: Dave from Ottawa from Canada

Rain on windows, running water on glass shower stalls, a waterfall painting under glass with simulated falling water: this is the unifying visual motif of this film. Almost every shot involves reflections in wet glass, or is shot through a rainy window. In many films, water is used to signify cleansing or purification, but here, people wash, bath, get rained on and do not become clean. Indeed, the wet glass feels more like an oily slick of something sinful or dooming. Four stories play out in succession at the hotel: a couple with commitment issues comes to have sex, a pair of college students arrive to shoot an 'art' film, two strangers who met in a bar come in to get out of the rain and a divorced woman meets an old flame.

All of the stories are sad and fatalistic. People arrive at the hotel with flaws and failings and leave with them intact. Sex is a temporary distraction which leads nowhere and changes nothing. This is the film's message and the stories are well written and acted but the downbeat tone makes for a somewhat difficult viewing experience.

2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
When you've exhausted your collection of Wong Kar-Wai films but are hungry for more..., 12 September 2006

Author: bastard wisher from Hawaii

here's a nice alternative. Christopher Doyle's incredible cinematography lends this film a certain inherent value as a Wong Kar-Wai supplement, but in all fairness the aesthetics can only take it so far. Although it is my no means less than a very good film, it's very concept (four short segments taking place in the same motel room) carries with it certain limitations. Whereas Wong Kar-Wai is always able to get very deep down into his characters, this film doesn't have time to allow it's characters much room to develop, so there is a certain surface-level detachment to the entire proceedings. We see these couples (and they are photographed exquisitely), but we don't really get to know them.

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