Free Chol Soo Lee
Seen it?2022 | 83 min | Documentary, Crime
Monday Morning Maybeearly ratingWhy it’s a Monday Morning Maybe
With a box office flop and almost no lasting buzz, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for crime fans and the curious.
- The mood
- Gritty, eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 23 min.
- What might put you off
- Nothing much for most grown-ups.
On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerWeak
$50K worldwide
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
Not enough engagement data yet
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Julie Ha, Eugene Yi
- Chol Soo LeeSelf (archive footage)
- Sebastian YoonNarrator (voice)
- Ranko YamadaSelf - Friend; Defense Committee
- K.W. LeeSelf - Investigative Reporter
- Jeff AdachiSelf - Activist
- David KakishibaSelf - Activist
- Jay Kun YooSelf - Chair, Defense Committee
- Grace KimSelf - Vice-chair, Defense Committee
- Warren FurutaniSelf - L.A. Defense Committee
- Leonard WeinglassSelf - Defense Attorney (archive footage)