Minari is a drama film directed by Lee Issac Chung. The plot follows the life of a South Korean/ American family as they try and achieve their own version of the American dream. The film explores themes of family, and legacy and what it means to be a success.
This is a beautiful film on many levels and deserves all the awards, not just Best Foreign Film or some other token: looking at you Golden Globes, sort your racism out.
There is something about this film, something that is hard to put into words. You spend half the film afraid that something bad is going to happen, there is this sinister sense of foreboding that hangs over the film, but it often leads to subversion. The bad things that do happen are not what you are expecting them to be, and as a result surprise you and that surprise cause you to revaluate how you see things and what you view as important.
All the performances are excellent here, Steven Yeun and Han Ye-ri are deserving of all the awards buzz they are getting, both of their performances carry a lot of emotional weight and resonance.
However, the performance I would most like to focus on as I think he often gets ignored, both in this film and others, is that of Will Patton. Patton plays a kind hearted neighbour who helps out the Yi family, and who the rest of the town thinks is odd. Patton fully sinks into this character and brings to the front a truly rounded character that is not defined by any one thing, and who does not overshine anyone, but who does impress while he is on screen. Patton truly makes the most out of his supporting role.
Finally, I would like to draw attention to relationship between David (Alan Kim) and Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung). It is not often we get films that reflect on the grandmother, grandson relationship as this one does, but it is much appreciated. Personally I thought this was the sweetest part of the film, watching the relationship bloom between the two of them over the course of the film (as David as never met her prior to the events of the film), it brought a tear to my eye.
Overall, one of the best films I have seen in a long time. Wholesome, lovely and truly special.
Pros.
The grandmother/grandson focus
Analysing the American dream
Yeun and Ye-ri
Patton
The emotional impact
Cons.
None
5/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 