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Minari Movie Review

Minari is a 2020 drama film directed by Lee Isaac Chang and starring Steven Yeun and Han Ye-ri. It’s a sweet movie that did not quite enamor me as I would have liked.

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“Remember what we said when we got married?

That we’d move to America and save each other?“

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Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Those sections with the grandmother to me were the best ones. She is such a wonderful, sweet soul and the bonding that grew between her and David was so moving.

There was this one scene in the film where David talks about how she isn’t her real grandma because she is too Korean, and she just understands the word grandma and thinks he is talking nice things about her. That to me was the saddest moment in the movie that emphasizes the many issues that face immigrants and how an Americanized child may lose his roots entirely.

But eventually the two bonded and  it was beautiful to witness. I just wish the rest of the movie was as sweet and as charming, but the central conflict between the spouses is very well portrayed. The father wanting to prove himself or wanting a better future for the family creates this rift between him and his wife and that question is explored throughout the movie.

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Steven Yeun gets all the praise for his truly excellent performance, but in my opinion Han Ye-ri is just as good and she is not receiving nearly as enough mentions when talking about Minari. Both are excellent and the characters really work. I just wish the young daughter character was better developed as the focus is squarely put on the young David.

Minari is this slice of life movie that reminded me of many anime films that feature this formula, but more specifically it really emulates ‘Shoplifters’, which to me was a much better movie. I wanted for this one to also have the high emotional moments and the strong characterization that that masterpiece did, but eventually it came short of both. Again, it’s a very good film, but honestly it could have been greater.

While definitely exploring the American Dream as the central theme and the Asian immigration of the eighties which was massive, the movie failed to touch upon racism for better and for worse. It was refreshing on the one hand, but somewhat unrealistic on the other. That is my main issue with this film – it tries to be slice of life, but is ultimately too limited in the stories that it tells without ever feeling fully encompassing of all the major experiences that these immigrants must have faced.

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Minari is beautifully shot and very well directed by Lee Isaac Chang who basically made a semi-autobiographical tale of his own upbringing. The movie’s emphasis on nature, herbs and the traditional Korean culture was wonderful, but again whenever the family interacted with Americans, those scenes felt rushed and clunky. The movie should have chosen either to be personal or epic in approach. This half-way fix doesn’t quite work. But still, it has a lot of heart and it’s so endearing that I ultimately really enjoyed the movie.

Minari is such a sweet slice of life film about immigration that is particularly strong in the familial interactions with the grandma scenes being the highlights. The direction is strong and the performances are excellent across the board. There are many touching moments here as the film has a lot of heart. However, one issue remains and that is the movie’s approach that tries to be both personal and epic, but only succeeds in the former as the family’s interactions with Americans are rushed. The movie tried to emulate Shoplifters, but didn’t quite succeed.

My Rating – 4