Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.
“Kingston” Film Details
- Director(s): Carlos Key, Kalijah Rowe
- Writer(s): Carlos Key, Kalijah Rowe, Claire Levesque, Jenna Shen
- Runtime: Hour(s) and Minutes
- Public Release Date (Film Festival – Tribeca Film Festival [More Coverage Of The 2026 Film Festival]): June 4, 2026
- Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Romance, Young Adult
- Content Rating: Not Rated
- Primary Language: English | Non-English (Chinese) | Non-English (Spanish)
- Images © of / Courtesy Of Tribeca Film Festival
Movie Summary
Kingston focuses on an elite college and splits its time between the Chinese language professor, Mr. Liu, and multiple students, all with different plights.
Atlas seeks community, connection, and stimulation in the face of isolation and feeling coerced to assimilate and lose herself. Amber and Marco? Their issue is love. How does one solidify love so early in life when there are so many voices and the assumption of not only many options, but viable options?
Lastly, there is Cyrus. He is a legacy kid, mourning the loss of his brother, with a chip on his shoulder, and a wealthy father backing his education and entitlement.
All of them find themselves learning often less in the classroom and more in the hollowed halls, the dorms, and campus grounds. Each with a different lesson to learn or teach.
Cast and Characters
Professor Liu (Michael C. Liu)
- Character Summary: Professor Liu is an immigrant from the rural parts of China who is a member of the language department with a focus on Chinese. He is married with two daughters, and has a passion for teaching, though he recognizes the curriculum is better for memorization than actual conversation.
Atlas (Rose Badiru)
- Character Summary: Atlas is a proud first-generation, low-income student at Kingston, who believes that there she can have stimulating conversations and find her people. However, the conversations she tries to stimulate rub people the wrong way, and in terms of finding her people? It seems that if she wants community, she’ll have to make it because finding it is a herculean task.
Amber (Leann Gardner)
- Character Summary: Amber is a biology major, focusing on non-mammals, who is interested in dating and love, but outside voices and uncertainty complicate reaching that goal.
Marco (Nick Snipes)
- Character Summary: Marco is a finance major, Amber’s love interest, who is dealing with the same issues of being in love, or at least wanting to be exclusive with someone, in a world that makes it so hard to pursue that.
Cyrus (Carlos Key)
- Character Summary: Cyrus is a legacy kid, whose father runs a firm that has allowed him to donate millions to the school. But, beyond being rich, if not wealthy, Cyrus has a chip on his shoulder because of what is expected of him. Especially after his brother’s precedent.
Review and Commentary
Highlight(s)
Professor Liu [93/100]
When it comes to Cyrus, what makes his character notable by any means is Professor Liu. At first, you may think he is a teacher who takes being hired at the college as prestigious as the students, and thus holds unrealistic, maybe egotistic, expectations. However, that perception is removed quickly.
What we get with Professor Liu is the perspective so often missing in films and shows focused on the college experience. I’m talking about a professor who not only cares about the subject but also shows you the struggles to teach it, both because of students and the administration. Not only that, but it also offers a perspective that helps leave an impression on you, the viewer, as much as the students.
Prime example, Professor Liu sometimes has complicated feelings regarding the students, not only how they learn Chinese, but also why. The ramp-up from fundamentals to phrases frustrates him since it means native speakers have to decipher their own language in order to understand a foreigner. Then there is the reason people learn Chinese. It isn’t like Japanese because you love the food or anime, or have been taught about the history all of your life. Chinese is a tool for money and opportunities. Of which, while non-native speakers get praised for taking it on as a second language, native speakers get no notoriety for having English as their second language.
His scenes dealing with the challenges and hypocrisy of his position shows there is truly a dearth of perspective regarding instructors, and that cutting out class time, or keeping them in boxed as either love interest or obstacles, greatly reduces their true impact.
Atlas’ Depicting That An Invitation Isn’t Inclusion [94/100]
Even before DEI became such a hot-button issue, one of its main problems was that it was often surface-level. Yes, you got hired or accepted, but what was done beyond that? Atlas’ character takes that on and leads to so many scenes that show it is possible to speak about issues that affect people of color without othering them or isolating their storylines.
Now, like with Professor Liu, we won’t give everything away, but one of the things we appreciated the most about Atlas, which got her in trouble, was what she brought to the table as an outsider. There was never a moment when Atlas wasn’t passionate about whatever she spoke about. But because her passion is taken as disruptive, she struggles. Because she forces people to understand that critical thinking doesn’t just involve having an opinion, but knowing how to express it to your audience, she gets isolated.
And it all pushes the idea that these institutions, which want Black and Brown faces, don’t want the history and stories that come with that. They want the select few they think can assimilate, rather than those who want to integrate and make it so, rather than be one of a few, they can be one of many, and create not just niches, but a place people like them can truly thrive, and feel comfortable.
Cyrus And The reminder That Sad Stories Don’t Justify Bad Attitudes [82/100]
I feel like one of the best things that Kingston does with Cyrus is not excuse his prickly attitude. Yes, things in his past have led him to drink and caused him to be in his family’s spotlight. But, I wouldn’t say the film ever pushes the idea that, because of what he went through, that excuses how he acts.
Whether it is his interactions with Professor Liu, Atlas or others, it is never about feeling bad for Cyrus. It is understanding that, while he has privilege, and that comes with options, it doesn’t mean people in his position will choose the best one. Be it for the sake of humanity or even themselves. For sometimes, as much as money may pave a road, it doesn’t mean the person behind the wheel knows how to drive.
Amber & Marco: Dating Realities and Fatigue [84/100]
The most frustrating part of Kingston might be watching Amber and Marco. The reason isn’t due to their topic being considered less serious, due to it primarily focusing on dating. More so, it is because the arc is very much rooted in the tropes we often see in romance movies.
But let it be clear, there is something to say with their storyline as much as the others. The thing that hits the most is how, when men and women go to their corners and have their friends review their next move, how often they can sabotage a good thing rather than provide helpful guidance. This leads, speaking in heterosexual examples, to you understanding why dating is trash.
Yes, there is a lack of effort, but it is coming from both sides. Also, yes, there is a lack of communication, but again, it is because, in order to appease our peers, we’re willing to sacrifice a good thing. Rather than being upfront with what we want, being vulnerable, many go for casual, as if that in any way heals or replenishes them, rather than depleting them.
Like with the others, there is a lot of commentary that I could go on and on about, but am trying so hard not to spoil.
Overall
Our Rating (88/100): Positive (Worth Seeing) – Recommended
Somehow, in 96 minutes, barely past the average length of a movie, Kingston navigates a multitude of topics with ease, despite how heavy each subject matter is. Whether it is dating, the myth of being inclusive, the layers not spoken of regarding being multi-lingual, if not a polyglot, and more, are all dove into. Not just touched upon, but developed and expressed in ways that leave something with you. I’d even say to the point of wanting to watch again to be able to quote certain lines and get to really analyze how certain scenes or lines made you feel.
What To Check Out Next
Check out our movies page! There you’ll find our latest movie reviews and recommendations.
No posts
Images used for editorial and commentary purposes. All rights remain with their respective copyright holders.
