What could be the worst possible place for a boy who′s just hit puberty to work? What could be the worst possible environment for a boy whose world is suddenly, confusingly sexually charged? Michael Kang′s answer to these questions is a cheap, sleazy, hourly motel. 13-year-old Emest works at just such a motel-it′s the family business. He′s secretly in love with Christine, whose family owns the local Chinese restaurant, his mother belittles-and fears-his every attempt at independence and maturity, and his father has abandoned them. Into the motel one day comes Sam, a misguided and dysfunctional guiding light for Ernest. Kang′s film was loosely modelled after such coming-of-age dramas as My Life as a Dog and The 400 Blows in its blend of epic reach and intimate interactions. While Kang does nothing to distance the film from its Asian American roots, The Motel is built on a strong narrative and compelling characters that have nothing to do with ethnicity, and the film remains free of politics, focusing instead on Emest′s bittersweet move from childhood into manhood.