2017
Unrated
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 34 m

2017
Unrated
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 34 m

Summary Eli (Justin Chon) and Daniel (David So) are two Korean American brothers that run their late father’s shoe store in a predominantly African American community of Los Angeles. These two brothers strike up a unique and unlikely friendship with an 11-year-old African American girl, Kamilla (Simone Baker). As Daniel dreams of becoming a reco...

Drama

Written By: Justin Chon

2017
Unrated
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 34 m

2017
Unrated
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 34 m

Gook

Name: Gook
Genre: Drama
Released: 2017-08-18
Duration: 1 min 34 s
Rating: 69
Cast: Simone Baker, Justin Chon, Curtiss Cook Jr., David So, Kirlew 'bliss' Vilbon

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 11 User Ratings

6.2

My Score

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Where to Watch

Drama

Written By: Justin Chon

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews

84% Positive
16 Reviews

16% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews

84% Positive
16 Reviews

16% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

TheWrap

Aug 18, 2017

Chon’s dense, ambitious, and observant film is full of impressive craft and insight.

By Inkoo Kang FULL REVIEW

Rolling Stone

Aug 30, 2017

Like Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit," set half a century ago, Chon's Gook uses the past to speak to a tumultuous present. Chon has created a hardass yet hypnotically beautiful film that snarls and sparks to incite, not a fever in the blood, but an urgent conversation about what makes us human. Godspeed.

By Peter Travers FULL REVIEW

IndieWire

Aug 18, 2017

Raw and compelling from its poetic opening shot to its gut-punch finale, Gook doesn’t always find the best way to express itself, but it knows what needs to be said, and it knows that words can lose their meaning in a conversation where so many people are denied their own voice.

By David Ehrlich FULL REVIEW

Movie Nation

Aug 14, 2017

Touching, disheartening and surprising, Gook punches through the noise of 2017’s clamor over race with a sobering look at a defining moment in modern American history. It’s a simple, straight-forward and compelling reminder that the villains and the victims were spread further across the spectrum than we’ve ever dared to accept.

By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW

New York Magazine (Vulture)

Aug 18, 2017

The images of polo-shirt wearing Asian men with rifles lining the rooftops of Koreatown is one of the more troubling images from April 1992. Gook purposefully chooses not to tell a story of that scale, but I did wish it could have found more moral complexity in the corner of the city it chose to depict.

By Emily Yoshida FULL REVIEW

Washington Post

Aug 24, 2017

The uneven tone especially undermines the ending — one that’s as tragic as it is predictable. Viewers may expect — even crave — to feel an emotional impact, but the movie hasn’t laid the groundwork.

By Stephanie Merry FULL REVIEW

Slant Magazine

Aug 13, 2017

Justin Chon fumbles the take on how his characters' anger fits into the greater landscape of a L.A. during the aftermath of the Rodney King beating.

By Clayton Dillard FULL REVIEW

See All 19 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 11 User Ratings

6.2

73% Positive
8 Ratings

9% Mixed
1 Rating

18% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

View All

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 11 User Ratings

6.2

73% Positive
8 Ratings

9% Mixed
1 Rating

18% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Datari Turner Productions, Birthday Soup Films, Foxtrout Studios, The Fishbowl Studios, Tunnel Post

Release Date Aug 18, 2017

Duration 1 h 34 m

Rating Unrated

Genres

Drama

Tagline A heartfelt film exploring families and relationships between Korean and African American communities set during the LA Riots

Website http://www.kaleidoscopehomeentertainment.com/movie/gook/

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Awards

VC FilmFest - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations

Black Reel Awards

• 3 Nominations

Seattle International Film Festival

• 2 Nominations

Gook

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Simone Baker

Kamilla

Justin Chon

Eli

Curtiss Cook Jr.

Keith

David So

Daniel

Kirlew 'bliss' Vilbon

Bliss

Chris Jai Alex

Ray

Domenique Batiste

Customer

Ignacio Bautista

Vato 2

Teaira T. Bryant

Shoe Store Customer

Sang Chon

Mr. Kim

Jeff Corbett

Doctor

Terence Dickson

Rioter 2

Cesar Garcia

Cesar

Xzavier Gray

Tagger 2

Sharyn Grose

Kamilla's Mom

Guy L. Holmes

HipHop Kid

Isaiah Jarel

Curtis

David Joe Kim

Hospital patient

Gigi Tsui Kim

Hospital patient

Raymond Kou

Hospital patient

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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