Cinema Styles: Minari and the immigrant experience
Minari is a beautiful film about a South Korean family, The Yi’s, moving to Arkansas in the 1980s and starting a farm. It’s a story both specific and universal, and it’s told with lovingly close attention to detail.
The majority of people living in The United States of America are either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. The concept of the American Dream is inherently intertwined with immigration. Viewers who are new to this country can directly connect with the struggles and successes of the Yi family, and their status as first-generation immigrants. Viewers that have been here for multiple generations can gain a new appreciation for their ancestors who were the first-generation immigrants in their family.
The film is also universal in its depiction of people adjusting to new circumstances and environments. Everyone can identify with the difficulty of making adjustments to significant changes in their lives, whether it’s a new job, the birth of a child, or the loss of a loved one.
One of the central relationships in the story is between David (a scenestealing Alan S. Kim), the young son in the family, and his grandmother Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn). They don’t know each other well when Soonja moves in with the family, and initially, David
Film: Minari (2021) Director: Lee Isaac Chung (Munyurangabo) Starring: Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Yuhjung Youn, Yeri Han, Alan S. Kim Streaming Platform: Available for Rent on Amazon, Apple TV, and Youtube Cost: $20 Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 115 minutes Genre: Drama
2021 Academy Award Nominations
Motion Picture of the Year Director - Lee Isaac Chung Lead Actor - Steven Yeun Supporting Actress - Yuhjung Youn Original Screenplay - Lee Isaac Chung Original Score - Emile Mosseri
is resistant to her presence and unusual behavior. The gradual development of their bond is one of the most heartfelt aspects of this movie. It grows slowly, like the crops on the Yi family farm, and like those crops, it takes time and attention to grow properly.
Growth is one of the central ideas of Minari. Jacob (Steven Yeun), the father in the family, struggles to get his crops to grow. This struggle is paralleled in the difficulty his family faces in calibrating to life in America. The new land they’re living in is unfamiliar to them, both in terms of the soil and crops, and the culture and customs around them.
When Soonja first arrives to live with the family, she brings traditional South Korean food. The mother in the Yi family, Monica (Yeri Han), is emotionally overwhelmed by her mother bringing these reminders of her homeland, and it causes her to begin crying. Soonja also brings seeds for plants that are native to South Korea. One of those is minari.
Minari is a type of vegetable, closely-related to celery, and it grows most prominently in South Korea. Soonja plants minari on the family farm, and its growth is symbolic of the growth the Yi family experiences as they adjust to their new environment. Their identity is a mixture between Korean and American, and this unique combination is similar to the one every immigrant brings to our country. With their variety of experiences, immigrants make America great.
The acting in the movie is incredible. Steven Yeun shines as Jacob Yi, and his Oscar nomination is groundbreaking as he’s the first Asianamerican to be nominated for Best Actor. Yeun subtly portrays Jacob’s struggles in adapting to his new environment. The film often frames him during moments of silence and isolation, surrounded by the landscape, symbolizing the aloneness he often feels.
Yuh-jung Youn is famous in South Korea, but she’s mostly unknown in America. Minari will change that, as her performance is the most memorable aspect of the movie. She gives