Soap Girl official selection in Gwangju International Film Festival

Program > Main Program > Festival of Festivals






Soap Girl
USA | 2002 | 90min | Color |

Young Man Kang
Kerry Liu, Luciano Saber, Tomiko Lee, Kate Holliday, Hiromi Nishiyama







5022 202 Migliore Cinema 5 2005. 08. 30 13:30 -

5022 216 Migliore Cinema 5 2005. 09. 02 10:30 - -




< Soap Girl > is a entertaining drama about the Asian young girls working as massagers, dealing with the material of women's power. Maya, a Korean immigrant girl, is looking for a job in the Hollywood Massage Parlor. Other girls in Parlor see Maya with curiosity because Maya seems to have a story. Seeing people come to Parlor expecting not only massage services but other services, Maya feel sad as a massager. She meets a innocent bachelor poet and she goes out to look for the hope of life. The most great part of this movie is the action of players. The actresses for massage girls including Maya act vividly and show the charming actions. There has been controversy on < Soap Girl > because this movie used the sexuality of Asian women commercially on the basis of prejudice and let the image of Asian fall down.







He majored in Visual Design at Hongik University, Korea and went to USA in 1994.
He studied film directing in New York New School and had been a TV CF director for 1 year. His first film in Hollywood is < Cupid's Mistake >, which is on the guinness world records as the movie of the lowest budget ($980) of the movies distributed in the American theaters.







Cinematographer : Henryk Tzvi Cymerman
Sound : Torin K Middleton
Makeup : Coco Yuon












Press center

Koreapowered.com

Young Man Kang and the cast from his 2002 movie "Soap Girl."

Koreapowered.com

Featured Korean American Professional

Name: Young Man Kang
Age: 38
Occupation: Filmmaker
Marital Status: Single

From claymation to toilets to Adam and Eve, Korean-American filmmaker, Young Man Kang (www.youngmankang.com) is as talented as he is versatile. With numerous film festival awards and award nominations under his belt, Koreapowered.com wanted to know the past, present and future aspirations of this creative filmmaker.

Originally from Seoul, Korea, Young Man Kang studied fine arts at Hong-ik University and later moved on to New York City where he studied film at The New School. In 1996, Kang moved to Los Angeles and continued his film career working as a director for a television commercial production company. In addition to over 50 commercial credits, Young's 1999 claymation short entitled 'Image of Korea' was distributed by Big Film Shorts and released on DVD by Quickband/Warner Brothers.

In September 2000, 'Cupid's Mistake' marked his feature film directorial debut at the Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theater in Los Angeles followed by a second screening at the Pioneer Theater in New York City in August 2001. 'Cupid's Mistake' set the record in the
Guinness World Records for least expensive feature film at $980.00.

Mr. Kang's short film, 'Toilet Lesson' was the Official Selection at Tromadance 2001. Both of Young's next films, his second feature film 'First Testament: CIA Vengeance' and the documentary, 'Haitian Slave Children' premiered in Los Angeles 2001.

'First Testament: CIA Vengeance' won the Special B-Movie Achievement Award and 3 Nominations at The 2002 B-Movie Film Festival in New York and released on DVD in 2004.
'Haitian Slave Children' received 'Best Effort Documentary' at the 2001 Jamerican International Film Festival and took the Silver Remi Award in the WorldFest Houston 2002.
Mr. Kang's third feature is the sexy romantic comedy 'Soap Girl'(2002). This third effort won the Audience Award at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival. 'Soap Girl' also received notice as the Official Selection at the Riverside International Film Festival 2003. 'Soap Girl' opened in Hollywood at the Fairfax Laemmle Theater and Gardena in December 2002.

'Soap Girl' was rated one of the '10 BEST UNSEEN FILMS OF 2002' and received Five Stars in 'Film Threat.' More than any other film to date, 'Soap Girl' has created internet controversy and debate.

Young's fourth feature was the supernatural mystery 'Death Valley Diary'(2004).
Young Man Kang is currently immersed in production for 'The Last Eve', an action film based on the story of Adam & Eve.

Interview with Young Man Kang, prolific indie filmmaker on his latest pic "Soap Girl"

[INTERVIEWS > Young Man Kang] 12/01/02


"Soap Girl" opens Dec 6, 2002 in Los Angeles.


Interview with Young Man Kang, prolific indie filmmaker on his latest pic "Soap Girl"


This fiercely prolific indie filmmaker Young Man Kang has his roots in studying fine arts at Hong-ik University in Seoul, Korea. In 1994, Kang moved to New York City where he studied film at The New School. In 1996, Kang moved to Los Angeles and continued his film career working as a director for a television commercial production company. Between 2000 and 2002, Kang made four feature films and a documentary. His feature debut, "Cupid's Mistakes," was allegedly made with an invisible budget of US$980 and had a small theatrical in Los Angeles. His second feature, "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" is an action thriller. "Hatian Slave Children," his documentary, won Best Effort Documentary at 2001 Jamerican International Film Festival and Silver Remi Award at 2002 WorldFest Houston. His third feature is "Death Valley Diary." His fourth and most current feature, "Soap Girl" won an audience award at the 2002 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival. "Soap Girl" will be opening theatrically in Los Angeles starting Friday, December 6, 2002 at Laemmle's Fairfax Cinemas.

iR: When did you decide to be a filmmaker? How did you get started? What or who inspires or has inspired you as a filmmaker? Who are filmmakers you like or you look up to?

My art background is what brought me into filmmaking. I had been drawing a lot of pictures and comic books since I was five years old. I studied hard in high school and finally got into the best art school, Hong-ik University in Korea in 1986. I studied visual design, conceptual design, story boarding, creative idea development, animation, TV commercials and film at that school. The moment that inspired me about moviemaking happened in my third year at the University. I'd watched a lot of films from America, Europe and all over the world. Federico Fellini, Andrea Tarkovsky, Werner Herzog, Stanley Kubrick, John Casavettes, Akira Kurosawa, Alejandro Jodorowsky, etc., especially my favorites Werner Herzog, Akira Kurosawa and John Casavettes. These artists have such a profound impact on their audience. I thought I could create a different world through filmmaking where anything is possible and where I can [share] entire worlds of experience with my audience.

iR: You are incredibly prolific. Since 2000, you have made four features and one documentary. Can you talk a little about each project, and what each means to you as a filmmaker?

As a Korean making movies in the U. S., I try to make films that combine both nations' perspectives into a new style based on bi-cultural and interracial subjects. My first feature "Cupid's Mistake" is a story about interracial dating between a Korean girl and a Japanese guy, as well as a German girl and American guy in Los Angeles, a quadrangle cross-cultural romantic comedy.

My second feature, "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" was the first independent co-production between a Korean and an African-American [production company] in Los Angeles. "1st Testament" is about a North Korean female spy versus and an African-American CIA agent.

My third feature "Death Valley Diary" was about a confrontation and adventure with nature, a terrifying journey with a racially mixed cast and crew living out their worst fears in Death Valley.

"Haitian Slave Children" the documentary that I shot 100% in Haiti was a challenge in my approach toward a heavily humanist subject about Haitian slave children, for which I got a Best Documentary Award at the 2001 Jamerican International Film Festival and a Silver Award at the 2002 Worldfest in Houston.

My fourth feature, "Soap Girl" is a tale of love between an Asian massage girl and a virgin American poet. I think it's controversial.

iR: I was told that you made your first feature "Cupid's Mistakes" for US$980. Is that true? How did you manage to make it on such a limited budget? How did you get it distributed?

"Cupid's Mistake" broke the world's record for the lowest budget feature film of all time. The budget was $980. As you may have guessed, all of the actors in "Cupid's Mistake" are my friends. I came up with the idea that one character should pursue the other. Three days of crazy filming. No permits, guerrilla shooting, no script, [and] 100% improvised. Handheld shooting with long continuous shots made "Cupid" both cost effective and easy to edit.

In the winter of 1999 we showed "Cupid" at the "Light and Screen Film Festival" held in New York City's celebrated Siberia Bar. We were amazed at the audience's overwhelmingly positive response. Phaedra Cinema, best known for its foreign films "The Terrorist," and "La Separation" had scheduled theatrical releases "Cupid" in Los Angeles and New York.

iR: What inspired you to make "Soap Girl," your fourth and most recent feature? Why does the subject matter appeal to you? What was your vision for the film? Is it just pure entertainment or do you have a message with it? What are you trying to convey to the audience?

The story was pitched to me by the producers Tomiko Lee, Dennis Lee and writer Tony Young, [which was] asically a farce about hijacks at a massage parlor involving geeky male virgins, gangsters and immigrants.

So the story evolved away from the "Pretty Woman/Cinderella" story and into one that plays on the audience's expectations of Asian stereotypes. Maya turns out not to be an immigrant, though everyone in the beginning believes that she is. None of the massage girls are naive, innocent lambs with hearts of gold; [they] are simply trying to survive.

The main theme of the story [is] Maya's evolution from an abused girlfriend to an empowered, more mature woman, in control of her love life and her destiny. The lesson of how people can grow and change is keenly brought to life by actress Kerry Liu.

If there is a lesson here I believe it is that an Asian girl can actually be a protagonist in her own life and that she can have adventures that inspire other people to become survivors as well.

iR: Soap Girl" is essentially a love story. What kind of a love story are you trying to tell? What does the idea of "love" mean to you as a filmmaker?

Love and intimacy can heal the scars that accumulate in people's lives. Maya is scarred by her former boyfriend. Why does she end up working at a massage parlor? Revenge? Jealousy? A desire to become another person? That question is left to the viewer. Why does she fall in love with Harry? Perhaps for many reasons, [and] perhaps [for] none at all. Love knows no logic or rationale.

iR: Can you talk about the process of making "Soap Girl"? Can you also talk about self-distributing the film, and why you have chosen to self-distribute it?

Our total shooting time was twelve days. I shot with a Sony DSR 500, [later] blowing the images up to 35mm. Gilbert Yablon, the technician at Filmout Express, did wonderful job. So far our total budget including self-marketing is about $500,000.

Most distribution companies are afraid to release independent films theatrically because they believe that [the] lack of product identification will make them lose money at the box office. But they have to release independents theatrically in order to create interest for the rental. In this strange environment we decided to create interest in our own movie by taking the bold step of promoting our movie theatrically by ourselves.

iR: "Mist" is your next project. What is it about?

"Mist" is about a Far Eastern female Vixen, a supernatural being from Korean legend battling serial killers to find the modern incarnation of her lover and become human against backdrop of a corrupted modern day city. It's a co-production between the U.S. and South Korea.

iR: What is your dream project? If you can make any movie in the world, what would it be?

While I like a film to be composed of stunning sounds and pictures, I am still basically a humanist. I like to see characters put to test. In the genre of war films a wide variety of interesting people can be hurled together in a way that tests their spirit. Now the film becomes not just a story but an experience to be lived on a variety of levels.

At this time in film history, we have a huge archive of films relating to the Vietnam War. But the Korean War, almost a massive section of Asian American history, has not been told. I feel that the script "Memory of War" that I have created will tell the story of the Korean War as it happened and is experienced by the survivors to this day.

Massage girl and geeky

Star Bulletin

Massage girl and geeky
client find unlikely romance
By John Berger


A mysterious woman takes a job in a Hollywood massage parlor -- is she seeking refuge, revenge or some combination of both? But, to be honest, by the end of "Soap Girl," it doesn't really matter due to the fine performances of Luciano Saber and Kerry Liu.

Liu plays Maya, the neophyte parlor worker, and Saber is Harry, a preternaturally geeky writer who meets Maya as a customer after his friend and agent discovers that the 30-something Harry is still a virgin. Naturally -- for this film anyway -- they hit it off, and a romance blossoms even though Maya is dealing with the sexual demands of other customers and Harry is struggling to finish writing a technical manual when he would much rather be writing poetry about Maya.

The love story is so engaging that viewers are likely to suspend their knowledge of life and love in the real-life "floating world" and hope that the unlikely couple will beat the odds against them. While some of the secondary story lines add depth, others seemed to have been placed primarily to showcase the supporting cast, which include Gina Hiraizumi as the gorgeous and "exotic" Asia and Tomiko Lee, who does a perfect turn as the parlor's mama-san.

But it's Saber and Liu that make "Soap Girl" more appealing as a love story than a message or slice-of-life movie.

imdb.com Soap Girl

imdb.com


SOAP GIRL

Director Kang has been all over the indie/low-budget map. Girl may grant him larger success, or at least a touch of controversy. Seems some people are all up in arms with his portrayal of Asian women as comely lovecats, though from what we've seen, it looks like a winning combo of beauty and brains.

imdb.com Soap Girl

<"img src=http://www.youngmankang.com/images/soapgirlposter.jpg">

imdb.com


SOAP GIRL

Director Kang has been all over the indie/low-budget map. Girl may grant him larger success, or at least a touch of controversy. Seems some people are all up in arms with his portrayal of Asian women as comely lovecats, though from what we've seen, it looks like a winning combo of beauty and brains.

Honolulu Advertiser 'Soap Girl' a candid, honest drama

Honolulu Advertiser

'Soap Girl' a candid, honest drama

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

"Soap Girl," an indie film about massage-parlor workers in Korea Town, Los Angeles, is a well-intentioned cross-cultural view of life behind the rubs and suds.
Its makers, from Hawai'i, contend that life in the massage parlors parallel the pulse in hostess bars here, where young women provide a particular service to eager and willing men.

"Soap Girl" proceeds to imply that women get into this kind of work for a variety of reasons, with a multitude of expectations and, yes, different outcomes.

Maya (Kerry Liu), the principal character, walks into a massage parlor with emotional baggage. We're not sure at the outset why, but it becomes evident: She has no means of support, she has undergone a bad relationship, she has lost a child. She is alone, she needs a family to tide her over.

A massage parlor is hardly the logical place a lost soul would wind up at, but "Soap Girl" maintains that its slice-of-life depiction, where desperation can result in dignity, is the stuff of dreams.

Mama-san (Tomiko Lee) suspects Maya is a decent girl, behind the tragic facade, so Maya finds her place in the gallery of workers. It turns out that she is a quick study, becomes popular, but succumbs to something that's an in-house no-no: She falls in love with a thirtysomething writer (Luciano Saber), a virgin who cannot understand why there is a cloud in her skies.

With candor and honesty, director Young Man Kang has assembled a stylish ensemble that predictably includes stereotypes: the somewhat flippant and bitchy pro who has a soft heart, a voice of reason and sensibility, a hip chick whose big question is whether to remain blond or brunette, a victim of physical abuse. And yes, a geeky nice guy who also is a knight without the shining armor.

There is a dark side to the operation, too, with an extortionist (Dennis James Lee, one of the film's producers and the real-life son of Tomiko Lee, a one-time Korean hostess bar worker and club owner) who expects more than money in lording over the operations.

Essentially a melodrama, "Soap Girl" has moments of sweetness, instances of titillation, attempts at redemption, and, yes, ripples of liberation. The film dwells on the stereotypical view of Asian women working to please men, but also depicts these women as challengers who won't let a hothead get his way, brandishing pots and pans to halt the extortionist.

It's also a love story ? soap opera, even ? wherein the leading lady ultimately finds her way to happiness, however contrived. She to him: "You have a girlfriend?" He to her: "No." It's not exactly a dynamic story with crisp lines, but it does get beneath the skin and into the heartbeat of a cultural milieu.

There is nudity, mostly focusing on bare butts, and lots of suds. Acceptance of the film may depend on the generation ? younger and hip audiences will find some enlightenment; older viewers may find offense in the subject matter.

For nostalgia fans, the main theme song, "You Are Beginning to Grow on Me," provides a nice surprise. It was composed by Teddy Randazzo, who has Island ties; he's penned a lion's share of golden oldies in his time, including "Goin' Out of My Head," "Hurt So Bad," and "The Way of a Clown."

Soap Girl

filmthreat.com

SOAP GIRL

2002, Un-rated, 86min, Leapfrog Productions (5/15/2002)

Young Man Kang is the immensely talented Korean-American filmmaker with a remarkable gift for cross-jumping genres. His first dramatic feature "Cupid's Mistake" (2000), made for a teeny $980, offered a Cassavetes-style glide across the sharp edges of a love quadrangle, while his second feature "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" (2001) invaded classic B-Movie territory with an adrenaline rush of non-stop action. His latest feature is "Soap Girl" and this time around Kang moves into the world of the so-called grrl power with a delightfully entertaining drama about life in a Hollywood massage parlor and the surprising young ladies employed therein.
"Soap Girl" focuses on Maya (Kerry Liu), who arrives one night at the door of a massage parlor seeking employment. Maya looks every inch the tragic case: disheveled clothing, no visible means of support, and a halting command of English. The parlor's owner is Mamasan (Tomiko Lee) who foregoes the job interview process and hires Maya on the spot, providing food and shelter and a fashionably slutty new wardrobe. The other girls at the parlor are initially wary of Maya, who is visibly uncomfortable with a few aspects of her work...especially the prerequisite "happy ending" that most of the customers expect (this is not the place where one seeks out a therapeutic Swedish massage). With uncommon speed, Maya acquires the skills to make herself one of the most sought-after girls in the establishment, and a chance meeting with a thirtysomething poet who never lost his virginity (Luciano Saber) brings Maya the opportunity to come to terms with a dark secret which long obscured her chances to find happiness.
Okay, so "Soap Girl" is not the most intellectually challenging film around. If you want an intellectual challenge, then go watch an old Stanley Kubrick film. But if you want pure, undiluted, 100% guaranteed entertainment, "Soap Girl" is the film to enjoy. This film is a wonderful work of fun, with a marvelous ensemble cast who have more energy, sex-appeal and charm than any group to strut and vamp across the camera in recent memory. "Soap Girl" has the most beautiful group of big-screen massage therapists (nudge nudge) to grace the screen, with special mention deserving of Gina Hiraizumi as the flippant self-described bitch with the inevitable heart of gold, Kate Holliday as the slick chick who can't decide whether to stay blonde or brunette, Hiromi Nishiyama as a voice of calm and reason, and Mari Tanaka as the vulnerable pack member. And as the dignified matron, Tomiko Lee provides a vision of dignified grace and mature beauty as the good-hearted Mamasan.
"Soap Girl" is ultimately a soap opera, but this is some soap opera! What can you say about a film where the massage parlor employees decide to shut down an extortion racket by giving a group rubdown to a mobster which climaxes when the ladies suddenly whip out frying pans for a series of fatal head-whacks? Or when an effeminate man, after initially admitting during his massage that he's been attracted to other men for the course of his sexual existence, abruptly announces his desire to see how the other 90% are getting it off after Maya gives him a few tugs on his tight shoulders? There is the prerequisite corrupt cop on the take (thank you, LAPD), the oversized doofus customer who bangs his forehead on a low-hanging chandelier, the married man bemoaning the disastrous state of his wedding ring imprisonment, and even a dastardly literary agent who pesters the virginal poet about a technical manual he is writing as a for-hire job. But the poet and Maya enjoy the ultimate high-kitsch moment when, after he is newly deflowered and she is newly liberated, they soak together in a bathroom decorated with so many candles that it is a minor miracle the smoke detector doesn't go berserk.
And speaking of the somewhat overage virgin whom Maya inspires in so many way, Luciano Saber takes what might have been a thoroughly thankless role and turns into a wonderfully comic and warm-hearted character. Although it would seem he is physically ill-suited for the role (his buff physique looks at odds with his uber-geek character), Saber deftly makes this unlikely figure come to life. With nervous gestures and guffawing mannerisms that may recall the bashful buzzard from the Bugs Bunny cartoons, the character is comical without being idiotic. Coupled with the gifted Kerry Liu as Maya, the actors bring a genuine sweetness and humanity to the proceedings.
For all the camp fun, "Soap Girl" is noteworthy for some of the most strikingly beautiful cinematography around. Polish-Israeli cinematographer Henryk Tzvi Cymerman captures stunning imagery throughout the film, from the garish decor of the massage parlor halls to the Fauvist hues of a Pacific sunset. Cymerman's camera takes what was obviously a low-budget effort and makes it (and its stars) look like a million bucks.
There has been some minor controversy (mostly from cranky people tacking up messages in online forums) about the depiction of Asian-American women in "Soap Girl." The main problem is the film's alleged continuation of the stereotype of the Asian female as a docile sexual plaything. Whoever made these comments clearly never saw "Soap Girl." Yes, the film takes place in a somewhat dubious setting and, yes, babes here are made-up to look a bit on the slutty side. But the girls also come with equipped with 21st century brain-power, will-power and (yes) grrl-power. Rather than perpetuate stereotypes, "Soap Girl" and its take-charge/take-no-crap attitude that it happily demolishes stereotypes. If anything, the audience will find itself shouting "You go, Soap Girl!" - by Phil Hall -