In The Moody 'Ms. Purple': A Karaoke Hostess Lives In The Silence Between Notes
Justin Chon's third feature, about a karaoke hostess forced to deal with her estranged brother while her father is dying, possesses an "emotional impact [that] is loudest in its quiet moments."
Don't let the title fool you, Ms. Purple is intensely blue.
Set in the darkest corners of Los Angeles' Koreatown, director Justin Chon's third feature film is a moving, melancholic drama following Kasie, a 23-year old first-generation Korean American woman, as she fights to care for her dying father.
Kasie's world, we quickly learn, is one in which she is meant to be seen and not heard. The film opens on Kasie as a young girl, standing stoic as her father brushes back her hair, straightens out, and tells her how beautiful she is in her traditional New Years' garb. "How can your mother not come and see this beautiful princess?" He asks her. "We have to look good for your mother."
