A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.
Pam says:
This is a powerhouse of a film, written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung and based upon his own upbringing as the son of an immigrant attempting to fulfill the American Dream. Jacob (Steven Yeun) bring his wife and young son, David (Alan S. Kim) and daughter Anne (Noel Cho) to the middle of Nowhere, Ohio to farm the land. Their struggles are palpable as they attempt to live in a trailer in a field, work to make ends meet, and provide for their children one of whom has a health issue. The push and pull of both Monica’s and David’s dream and how Mother Nature and America teams up to sometime help and other times divide or conquer is breathtaking.
To tell a unique story from a unique point of view and still making it a universal one is true talent. Chung brings us into his world of hopes, dreams, and realities as they miss home; the people and culture, yet long to find a way to be American. Their drive, determination, and resiliency transforms the barren land and their perceptions but not without heartache. The richly textured characters remind us that we are all very similar as we want the same things in life. Chung’s exquisite writing and skillful direct allow his characters to shine, but it is young Kim and Grandmother Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn) that melt your heart and endear you to the story even more.
3 1/2 Stars
Chuck says:
A quiet, powerful story of love and determination, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari emerges as a testament to perseverance as well as the power and fragility of family. Based on the filmmaker’s own immigrant experience, the movie is discreet in its approach in portraying the many trails the family at its center must endure, never resorting to histrionics to exaggerate the severity of the family’s troubles for drama’s sake. Instead, there’s a sense of intimacy to it all, as if the viewer has been invited to pull up a chair to the Chung’s kitchen table to hear the simple story of their struggles and growth. Thanks to this approach, the movie proves to be far more powerful than one would expect, the portrayal of the familial bond on display resonating with the viewer in unexpected ways.
Hoping for a fresh start, Jacob Yi (Stephen Yeun) has brought his family to 1980’s Arkansas, where he’s bought a plot of land in the hopes of growing fresh Korean produce. He thinks there’s a market for it in Dallas, but actually raising a crop and being able to transport it are just two of the many hurdles he’ll have to clear. Jacob’s wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) is far from happy with this situation, afraid that her husband’s pipe dream will never come to fruition and feeling like an outcast in the community. Paying the bills by sexing chickens at a nearby poultry farm, the couple finds their marriage on the rocks, which is compounded by the arrival of Monica’s mother Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung) who has come to watch her grandchildren, Anne (Noel Cho) and David (Alan S. Kim).
Soon-ja is not much of a cook but she’s good at playing card, cussing and takes an immediate liking to Mountain Dew. As much of a child as her two charges, she initially seems to be yet another burden for the couple to deal with. Yet, as time passes, the bond she forms with David proves transformative. Though young, the boy can sense the pressure his father is under and the strain his mother feels. His grandmother’s presence provides a refuge for him where he can escape the tension of the home, gravitating to her because of her seemingly childlike qualities.
Chung’s deft approach is surely due to his intimate connection to the story. In lesser hands, the temptation would have been to render the Yi’s story on a grand scale, as dramatic turns that occur in the film’s third act would not be out of touch in a trite soap opera. Yet, the filmmaker’s almost matter-of-fact approach to what befalls them grounds their experiences in reality making them all the more powerful. This is a movie of grand moments rendered on a small scale, their emotional impact and poignancy magnified by this approach.
The acting is solid all-around, Han and Ye-ri rendering their respective characters’ sense of independence with sincerity while Cho and Kim never fall into the trap of acting like kids. Their genuine nature endears us to them from the start, while Yuh-jung and film veteran Will Patton as an addled neighbor, never fall victim to overplaying their outsized roles.
In the end, Minari is a testament to the ties that bind us. Though at times they may be stretched to the breaking point, the bond between family members can often prove to be our salvation, the only thing that’s familiar and reliable in a world that is not. The wise man recognizes this, cultivating it in his own children, something Jacob is, thankfully, able to recognize through the haze of his everyday worries.
3 1/2 Stars
