“Michael Kang’s small, perfectly observed portrait of Ernest Chin...captures the biological limbo of early adolescence... The drama...stems not from any conventional plot, but in the accruing of small, telling details that sustain a feeling of lives in suspension.”
–Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“Chyau’s character... and his peers all communicate with a stumbling inarticulateness that, like the rest of the film, feels effortlessly authentic. Like the best independent films, THE MOTEL realizes that life is made up of minor pleasures and tiny epiphanies. The film develops a sneaky emotional power. In his beautifully shot, poignantly scored debut, Kang also benefits tremendously from winning performances by Chyau and Kang.”
–Nathan Rabin, The Onion

“Michael Kang makes an impressive feature directorial debut with THE MOTEL. But the person to keep an eye on is Jeffrey Chyau, a student at the Bronx High School of Science, who is a delight in the lead role... Samantha Futerman charms as a teenage waitress Ernest comes on to.”
–V.A. Musetto, New York Post

“A momentous achievement...heartfelt [and] hilarious”
–Jeff Yang, The San Francisco Chronicle

“...Shrewd, sympathy-inspiring storytelling.”
–Joe Leydon, Variety

“Jade Wu is perfect as his obsessively hard-working mother, and Sung Kang brings a burst of life to the film as Sam, a drunken playboy boarder with lessons to teach.”
–Stephen Whitty, The Star-Ledger

Michael Kang’s debut feature, in the words of Variety, "signals the arrival of a singularly promising filmmaker." With extraordinary subtlety of feeling, THE MOTEL tells a coming-of-age tale of chubby, 13-year-old Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau), a second generation Chinese-American, who helps run his mother’s sleazy rent-by-the hour motel. His relationship with teenage Christine (Samantha Futerman, who played the young lead in MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA), who works at her family’s Chinese restaurant, is soon overshadowed by a charismatic stranger (Sung Kang from BETTER LUCK TOMORROW), a sexy Korean-American ne’er-do-well inhabiting the motel for trysts with prostitutes. Kang uses the specific realities of these Asian-American lives to create a believable, nuanced universe not defined by ethnicity -- a world recognizable to anyone who has survived adolescence.

Written & Directed By Michael Kang • USA, 2006 • 76 Minutes • Released by Palm Pictures and ImaginAsian Pictures

• Official website
• Director Michael Kang’s myspace page, including film trailer
• Puberty Sucks is the repository of emotional scars by Michael Kang, director of THE MOTEL
• Listen to filmmaker Michael Kang discuss THE MOTEL with producer Miguel Arteta, actor Sung Kang, and actor Jeffrey Chyau
• Asian CineVision (ACV) home page
  • Feature article on THE MOTEL (Asian American International Film Festival ‘05)
  • Cinema AZN-TV segment on THE MOTEL
  • Cinema AZN-TV interviews with cast & crew:
    • Jeffrey Chyau (Ernest) and Samantha Futerman (Christine)
    • Director Michael Kang
    • Producer Karin Chien