Minari (2020)

“Minari is truly the best. It grows anywhere, like weeds. So anyone can pick and eat it. Rich or poor, anyone can enjoy it and be healthy. Minari can be put in kimchi, put in stew, put in soup. It can be medicine if you are sick. Minari is wonderful, wonderful!” – Soonja

Number of Times Seen – 1 (11 Apr 2021)

Brief Synopsis – While seeking the American dream of becoming successful in their own rights, a Korean family moves to Nebraska in order to start a farm and raise Korean crops.

My Take on it – Very intriguing film that quite surprised me as to how engaging it was.

The cast is great and they truly help us get so involved in the story and characters as things unfold in ways one might expect.

The stand out is clearly Yuh-Jung Youn as the grandmother brought to live with her daughter’s family in Nebraska at a time when Korean families were not so familiar in the Mid-Western US.

The story is able to stay quite captivating throughout and allows for us to feel something that seems both unique and familiar because of the Korean twist on the typical immigrant story that is presented here.

The film garnered 6 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Steven Yeau, Best Supporting Actress for Youn, Original Screenplay and Original Score.

Despite not being a fan of watching a film spoken in a foreign language, they do a wonderful job here of making things feel even more realistic by blending much of the speech between the characters between both Korean and English.

This adds a real authentic view to these characters, their lonely situation and their unique culture as they try to find ways to both blend in with their new surroundings while also doing their best to stay faithful and truthful to their own culture.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Steven Yeun’s red hat was a gift from his mother when he was 17. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)