We’re entering the pre-Oscar stretch with that yearly pressure to catch up on the “important” movies that we’ve missed. Even to arthouse intellectuals, this can feel like homework; dutifully eating your high-brow vegetables before you can start dessert (usually featuring superheroes or The Rock). Thankfully Minari, a deserving critical and awards darling, is one Oscar nom that isn’t a drudgery, no matter how arts-averse you are. The film follows the Yis, a young South Korean family of four, moving to rural Arkansas in the 1980s. The movie has pathos and heartfelt emotion, but but it’s always lively and charming; a film that entertains while it educates, as we join well-rounded and interesting characters in this American immigration story.
We see the toll this new life in Middle America takes on the family, especially Alan and Anne. Their marriage and optimism is sorely tested by the challenges of their poor, agrarian lifestyle, assimilating to rural Americana while maintaining their heritage. Another dynamic is introduced when Soon-ja, Anne’s mother, arrives from South Korea to help raise her grandkids while Alan and Anne struggle to make a living. A generational schism forms between Soon-ja (an Oscar-nominated performance by Youn Yuh-jung) and the very young David (newcomer Alan Kim), who is constantly frustrated and confounded by his grandmother’s traditions and idiosyncrasies. Their pairing is the standout dynamic in the film. While the arc of their relationship is predictable, their individual interactions are surprising, a mixture of resentment and warmth, pulling you in unexpected directions. It all feels so true to life. This is likely because writer/director Lee Isaac Chung drew from his own experiences growing up in rural Arkansas. Chung moves gracefully from amusing and comforting to upsetting and heartbreaking in a way that feels emotionally sincere.
The success of Minari is underscored by the fact that Chung nearly didn’t make the film. He’d accepted a teaching position at the Asian Campus of the University of Utah in Incheon just after writing Minari‘s screenplay in 2018. Weighing his options between reliable and risk, Chung followed the latter. His gamble resulted in film festival recognition, a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and potential Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. It’s a fitting trajectory for the mind behind Minari, a story about ignoring the uphill climb and certain failure for the risk of building a brighter future. Lulu Wang—director of The Farewell, a wonderful film that also expertly captures complicated cross-cultural family dynamics—put it best: “I haven’t seen a more American film than Minari this year. It’s a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream.”
Minari is available to rent on Amazon Prime and Google Play. It runs 115 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a rude gesture.
What is the rude gesture in the film?
After scouring the IMDb parental guide…when the kids on the bus flip off their Christian neighbor?