“But Minari a soft, warmly funny and endearing way to remind us of the colour, flavours and experiences migrants bring to, and also take from, a new land.” – Con Nats
3.5 Cans of Mountain Dew
Minari is like celery – it fits easily with any Korean food and soup. It adds flavour, body and makes it ‘wonderful’ and it can grow just about anywhere. It’s a nice analogy for what migrants bring to any white bread country, and it’s what this gentle film is all about.
Set in 80s Arkansas, Jacob (Steven Yuen) pleasantly surprised his family with the enormous cheap property he bought and the rickety house on wheels in the middle of it. The kids love it but his wife, Monica (Han Ye-ri), hates it. Yet Jacob dreams of being a farmer instead of looking at chicks genitals and sending the males to their death. (They’ve worked in American hatcheries.)
But it’s the 80s, and involving your wife in life-changing decisions wasn’t in style yet. They argue and fight, and things calm when they agree to bring Monica’s mother (Youn Yuh-jung) over to help with the kids. Only problem is, she needs more looking after than they do.
David (Alan S Kim) is a character-laden 6 year old, who takes us through their uneven settling in this new land. He has a hole in his heart and can’t exert himself too much. But it gives an innocent lens to see their world through.
Writer-director, Lee Isaac Chung, has so many obvious options here. This could of been a cultural clash comedy, or a fish out of water tale. Or even a dark drama about racism in the south in Reagan’s America. But it’s none of these. It’s as true to life and spares us nothing with touches of each, without ever over reaching.
You can tell it’s a deeply personal story because of the soft hands he takes to the way he treats his characters. His father is stoic, but also cranky. His mother is emotional, but she fears for David and living so far from a hospital. Sis’ Anne (Noel Cho) is a gem but also has funny lines, but not as many as Grandma, who is predictably batty but also tragic. Even Paul, (Will Patton) their religious zealot farmhand, also deserves empathy. They’re not original characters, but they do have depth. I don’t even have to ask if this based on Chung’s personal experiences. They’re all too real, and I feel it so well, I just know it. And the 1 hour 50 minutes saunters by easily.
This already has an Oscar buzz about it, with some impressive production behind it. (Hello Brad Pitt.) I’m not sure that while the borders are closed and many of us are spending too much time with family if “This is the movie we need right now” is the right tag line. But Minari a soft, warmly funny and endearing way to remind us of the colour, flavours and experiences migrants bring to, and also take from, a new land.
3.5 Cans of Mountain Dew
Con Nats, On The Screen
