By: Andrew Wing, Contributing Writer
Minari is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. The plot follows a family of South Korean immigrants that just moved from the West Coast to rural Arkansas during the 1980s who must adapt to their new surroundings and overcome the challenges that they face along the way. Infact, it also just so happens to be that Minari is a semi-autobiographical story of Chung’s upbringing about him growing up in America with his South Korean family.
The film is helped by some extremely sincere performances from the outstanding cast which includes Steven Yeun in the lead role as Jacob Yi, the father. Yeun is most well-known for his role as Glenn Rhee in the AMC television series The Walking Dead that saw him rise to national prominence as an actor in the industry. The rest of the main cast includes Han Ye-ri as Monica Yi, the mother, Alan Kim as Jacob Yi, the son, Noel Kate Cho as Anne Yi, the daughter, Youn Yuh-jung as Soon-ja, the grandmother (Monica’s mother), and also Will Patton (Remember the Titans, Armageddon) as Paul, Jacob’s farmhand.
THE GOOD
Upon hearing the amount of hype this movie was getting after first premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January of last year where it won many awards, I have been eagerly waiting to watch this movie, and let me just say, it was well worth the wait. Similar to another movie I reviewed a few months back, Nomadland, Minari is a beautiful story of human beings trying to stay in touch and in peace with the natural world despite the many obstacles they face. From the opening minutes, you will be enthralled into the story of the Yi family and it will keep you that way up until the very last scene before the credits begin to roll.
The reason in my opinion why Minari has received so much widespread acclaim from critics and also why I enjoyed it so much is one reason and one reason only, and that would be the phenomenal performances from the entire cast. Yes, the cinematography and score are both fantastic, but the acting is truly what makes this movie so special. First with Steven Yeun, this was his coming-out party in my opinion in terms of him showing the world that his name deserves to be mentioned when you are discussing the upper echelon of actors in the movie industry today. For all of us who are fans of The Walking Dead like myself, we absolutely loved Glenn during his run on the show and we were heartbroken when he met his demise (sorry if that’s a spoiler but come on, it happened in 2016), but I would say he made the right decision leaving the show because he is now a movie star and I know I am not alone in my thinking because at the 93rd Academy Awards, Yeun earned himself a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first Asian American actor to receive this honor.
Speaking of 93rd Academy Awards nominations, there was another member of the cast of Minari that received a nomination for their performance and actually won the award, and that would be Youn Yuh-jung, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Soon-ja, the hilarious grandmother who will certainly keep a smile on your face from beginning to end. I didn’t think going into this movie that I would be laughing out loud for good chunks of it but boy I thought wrong. The back and forth banter between Soon-ja and her grandson David Yi (portrayed by the 8-year-old Alan Kim) throughout the movie is simply genius on the part of Lee Isaac Chung’s writing and is worth the price of admission if you ask me. Lastly, the superb performances by Han Ye-ri as Monica Yi, the mother, and Noel Kate Cho as Anne Yi, the daughter, only add to the greatness of the film, and it was also great to see Will Patton who plays Paul back on the big screen simply adding another solid performance to his illustrious filmography.
THE BAD
If you haven’t been able to tell up to this point, I really liked this movie and I had a hard time finding something wrong with it. With that being said though, I won’t beat around the bush, the movie can be slow at some points because a large portion of the movie deals with Jacob working in the fields trying to grow Korean produce that he can sell to vendors to make a living for him and his family. Also, with the story being centered around a family of South Korean immigrants, the movie is heavy in subtitles so if that is not something you can handle, then this might not be the movie for you. Personally, I have never had a problem with subtitles, I actually find it to be helpful for me when watching movies but I know it can be annoying to some so I just wanted to put that out as a warning before you go ahead and decide whether or not to watch the film.
THE VERDICT
Led by triumphant performances from Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung, as well as stellar performances from the rest of the cast, Minari is a heart-wrenching story of the “American Dream”, but also a heart-warming story of family and assimilation in 1980s America that will make you laugh, will make you cry, but most importantly, you will see the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
TED TAKES RATING - 9/10
Minari is now available for rental and purchase. Check out the trailer below.