Year of Release: 2020
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton, Ben Hall, Eric Starkey, Darryl Cox, Esther Moon, Scott Haze
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"Minari" made a splash when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2020, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. Of course it then went on to be nominated for 6 Academy Awards (though this in itself is no longer an indication of anything), amongst a string of other awards that it collected during the year (it almost reminds me of the string of awards the film "Coda" also won, and strangely enough, no one ever talks about that film just a few years later). The film takes place in 1983 and focuses on a Korean family who moves from California to a plot of land they've purchased in the Arkansas area. They move into a mobile home stationed in the property, and the father hopes to sell Korean produce to vendors in Dallas. Friction starts emerging when Jacob (the father) dismisses the services of a water diviner, and decides to dig a well on a spot he randomly chooses. That well soon dries up. He manages to secure the help of Korean War veteran by the name of Paul, to start working on the crops. In order to keep money coming in, Jacob and his wife Monica work in a hatchery, but Monica is increasingly unhappier with the situation, and concerned with the children, including David, their son who has a congenital heart issue. In order to help with the children, Monica arranges for her mom, Soon-ja, to travel from South Korea. Soon-ja's relationship with the children is initially quite difficult, and she has some challenges adjusting to life in the US. As the challenges mount, the strain on the relationship between Jacob and Monica also escalates. Things become more complicated when Soon-ja suffers a stroke, which impacts her speech and movement.
Prior to the release of "Minari", Lee Isaac Chung had already directed 4 features all of which met some critical acclaim, but nothing like the universal applause that "Minari" achieved (and that has opened different doors for him, since he has gone on to direct episodes of Disney's "The Mandalorian" and has a new version of Jan de Bont's "Twister" coming up soon). The most interesting thing about "Minari" is in fact how authentic it attempts to be in depicting the tribulations and challenges a Korean family faces, particularly tackling a situation they're not familiar with, within a country where they're also strangers. The writer/director manages to give enough space for the characters to interact, and in doing so allows us to get to know more about their hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions. These relationships are woven very organically and very naturally. The family's core feels imminently real, including the relationships with the children and the grandmother, even if for her the reality she's dropped on is even more remote and alien to her habits. This microcosms of their existence is perfectly captured. Where there seems to be a bit of a loss of grit and veracity is the actual environment in which these characters actually live. The farming, the environment in which these characters exist lacks texture, and almost an identity in itself. Farming is a challenge, an all too consuming activity, and the film fails to illustrate that properly and how that significantly impacts the lives of people who choose to make a living from it. There's almost a disconnect between the staging of the relationships between these characters and the environment in which they exist (one feels more authentic than the other). The cast is fantastic, with Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Cho and Will Patton all excelling in their roles. The production team is equally solid, with highlights going to Lachlan Milne's cinematography, Yong Ok Lee's production design and Susanna Song's costumes. A solidly told narrative from an interesting and emerging talent.
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