Minari (2020) - A Review

 

An American classic.

 

Minari is an American drama movie released in the United States in 2020. It stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri,  Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. Minari was written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

Han Ye-ri as Monica Yi (left) and Steven Yeun as Jacob Yi (right).

In Minari, Steven Yeun plays Jacob Yi, the patriarch of the Yi family. The Yi's are an immigrant family from Korea who have just moved from California to Arkansas in the United States in the early 1980s. It is Jacob's dream to run a farm and make a living from it. His wife, Monica (played by  Han Ye-ri) is not so into his dream, but she supports him. They have two kids, Anne (played by Noel Kate Cho), the oldest, and David (played by Alan Kim), who has a heart condition (heart murmur). Monica worries about David a lot, and the others stop him from over-exerting himself. David just wants to be a kid.

Monica struggles in Arkansas, not only at work, but also with loneliness. They go to church to make new friends, with some people being more welcoming than others. Jacob gets help starting his farm from a rather strange and religious man named Paul (played by Will Patton), who is very enthusiastic about helping Jacob any way he can.

After a huge argument with each other, Jacob and Monica decide to bring Monica's mother to their trailer home in Arkansas. Soon-ja (played by Youn Yuh-jung) arrives, and David is not a fan. He says she doesn't look or act like a grandma, so he avoids her or plays pranks on her. After Soon-ja's arrival, things take a turn for the worse for the family. Can Jacob and Monica's marriage survive the bad times, and how will David's next doctor appointment go?

Alan Kim as David Yi.

Minari is an excellent movie, straight up. This is a semi-autobiographical tale about the director, Lee Isaac Chung's life. This makes the movie feel more real, and in turn, makes you more immersed in the story and in the characters. The movie portrays real life: there are ups and downs. When you finally succeed at attaining a goal, something happens to tear it all down. You just got to to keep persevering. The movie is not somber all the way through, though. There are a lot of light and comedic moments as well. Alan Kim as David brings a lot of the lightness (and does a great job at it).

The movie is spoken in a mix of Korean and English, as immigrants from Korea would probably really talk like. This doesn't bother me, as I grew up in a bilingual household, but it bothers others for some reason. Even though the movie is spoken mainly in Korean, with a majority Korean/Korean American cast, the story is an American one. Jacob and Monica Yi are striving for the American dream, but in different ways. Every actor in this movie gives an incredible performance. Will Patton is particularly memorable as the weird, and at first off-putting, Paul. Steven Yeun as Jacob is determined to get his farm started and keep everything else (including his family) in working order. Han Ye-ri as Monica is not a fan of Arkansas, or their trailer home, or her job; she just wants to go back to California where David will get better health care. Alan Kim as David is just a kid who wants to be a kid, but is held back by his chronic health condition (I can relate). Noel Kate Cho as Anne Yi is the one who deals with the most overt racism, and she realizes the state of her parents' marriage. Youn Yuh-jung as Soon-ja is a very nontraditional grandmother, but she tries (she likes pro wrestling, so she can't be all bad). The director and actors made these people feel like a real family. Great job all around.

Youn Yuh-jung as Soon-ja (left), David's grandma. David is not a fan.

I highly recommend watching Minari! This movie is just so good. The acting is impeccable, the characters are deep and memorable, the story is involving and relatable, the cinematography is exquisite, and the musical score is mesmerizing. It's an emotional story that you'll never forget. Lee Isaac Chung made a modern classic, that's for sure. Minari shows us that to achieve the American dream, you need faith, perseverance, and family.

Reviewed by David Williams