Photo Credit: https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/minari-a-korean-immigrant-drama-breaks-out-at-sundance/
In a review published in December 2020, Los Angeles Times dubbed Minari “the movie we need right now.” The phrase, which ended up being slapped on the film’s poster, was a perfect description of Minari. In this day and age when news networks seem to keep finding new reasons to be depressed, Minari was a movie that reminded people to find beauty in life and each other.
Minari was written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung and stars Steven Yeun, Han Yeri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Youn Yuh-Jung. The film follows the Yis, a family of Korean immigrants in the 1980s Arkansas, United States, and touches on the themes of the American dream, family, marriage, religion, personal growth, and many more.
Jacob (Yeun), the stubborn patriarch of the Yis, decides to start a farm in pursuit of the American dream. His wife Monica (Han) is concerned that Jacob might be so obsessed with the farm that he is failing to take proper care of their children Anne (Cho) and David (Kim). Monica is especially worried about the latter, who has a potentially fatal heart condition. Then, Monica’s mother Soon-ja (Youn) flies from Korea and moves in with the Yis. Little do they know that this eccentric grandma, who neither bakes cookies nor reads bedtime stories for her grandchildren, is about to shake the Yi household to the core.
To many, the sheer fact that a story centered around the Asian American immigrant experience was made into a major motion picture in Hollywood, where Asian Americans have long been marginalized, was a shock. The incredible critical and commercial success Minari turned out to be, grossing over 14 million dollars worldwide with a production budget of 2 million, was beyond anyone’s imagination. When the film garnered six Academy Award nominations and took home one, which is six more nominations and one more win than what Crazy Rich Asians, Searching, and The Farewell collectively received, many saw it as a sign of affirmation that mainstream American society was finally acknowledging Asian American stories as American stories.
However, Minari is far from just a movie for or about a certain group of people. On the contrary, Minari’s greatest strength lies in its universality. The argument between Jacob and Monica on whether to prioritize money or family is highly relatable. When Soon-Ja helps David gain self-confidence by telling him, “You’re the strongest boy I’ve ever met,” it gives everyone hope that they, too, are stronger than the world may have them believe. The film teaches its audience that what a family needs in order to be happy is not the lack of hardship but the willingness to love and be there for each other even in the most challenging times. If that is not the message people needed to hear in the era of coronavirus, what else could it be?
Minari plants, after which this film is named, are known for their resilience against pests, diseases, and other challenging conditions, as well as for growing even more strongly after it has died once and grown back. When Minari came out and was warmly received after a year in which hate crimes against Asian Americans had risen by 150% compared to the previous year, it was almost as if the Asian Americans were showing the world that they were not backing down, but coming back even stronger. Minari is a truly beautiful movie that reminds people to be appreciative of their parents, spouses, children, and themselves. Thus, it appears that the Los Angeles Times was correct: Minari is the movie we need right now.
Written by Philip Kim, Staff Writer
Comments