MINARI Review
I hate to say it, but I think I’m starting to feel “indie film about growing up as a foreigner in America” fatigue. Don’t get me wrong, Lee Isaac Chung’s MINARI is a solid little film that follows a unique American family finding their way throughout the country in the 1980’s but there’s a lot here that, while admirably performed and visualized, feels like something we’ve seen before. In a way, that’s the beauty of films like this one: even as they follow a different type of family and culture, even I, a Mexican who grew up in Texas, can find those same unique yet relatable moments of growing up in the tale of a Korean family living in Arkansas, circa 1980. Outside of those intoxicating moments where we get a glimpse into a very specific kind of childhood, however, Chung’s film hits a lot of familiar notes along the way.
Like other films of similar ilk, Chung’s film is tender in its depiction of a family undergoing change both physical and psychological. In just a few scenes, we see that Jacob Yi(Steven Yeun) and his wife, Monica (Yeri Han), are struggling with a life decision they’ve just embarked on. Moving from California to a plot of land in rural Arkansas, Jacob is determined to create a life for his family by his hands only as he plans to create his own farm and sell his produce to any vendors willing to work with him. A long process filled with unforgiving soil and last minute deal breaks, it’s not long before money becomes tight and doubt begins to build between Jacob and Monica, resulting in loud arguments that their two kids, David (Alan S. Kim) and his older sister, Anne (Noel Cho), overhear night after night. Eventually, as Jacob and Monica make due financially by working at a local hatchery counting chicks, Monica’s mother, Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn), comes to live with the family in an effort to help out the couple with watching their kids.
From there, MINARI observes this family as they encounter their usual bouts of trials and tribulations; from the struggles of farm work to the generational and cultural tension that persists between Soonja and her grandchildren, particularly the American-minded David, who for the life who him can’t understand why his grandmother isn’t like most other, more “American” grandmothers, seeing as how Soonja spends her days greedily chugging the recently discovered supply of Mountain Dew or cursing at her grandchildren as she schools them at various Korean parlor games. Chung, who also wrote the script, is more concerned with depicting the feel of life as a Korean-American family which comes across nicely in the pleasant visualization of a humble and hard working life set in those tucked away plots of land that one usually just passes through. With help from cinematographer Lachlan Milne and some subtle yet perfect set design that really brings out those little details of the Yi’s life, MINARI is successful at creating a sense of a personalized time and space. With the story more or less framed through the young David’s eyes, MINARI is a small film filled with a type of energy that evokes the awe and amazement an elementary school child would elicit at the world around him but also manages to find observations regarding.
Like its visuals, the film isn’t trying to be anything grandiose but rather arrestingly “normal”. It’s a film that offers little peeks into a family and for the most part, everything Chung brings to the table in regards to story maneuvering feels refreshingly low stakes, with the biggest issue arising being that of Jacob figuring out what exactly is important to him in the pursuit of a better life. To that same rhythm, the performances in MINARI benefit from a cast that find qualities in the smaller interactions and gestures that speak louder than overdramatic and overstimulated monologues. Yeun, ever a solid actor, makes an impression as a man quietly determined to make a life for himself on his terms. Despite his youthful appearance, Mr. Yeun carries years of regret and resentment in his eyes and glances, painting an almost tragic picture of a man missing out on the beauty of his family in the midst of his quest to provide for said family. As his put-upon wife, Ms. Han makes for a solid partner but at times feels a little light in characterization outside of the growing resentment towards her single-minded husband. Even the children, while genuinely getting good performances from its pipsqueak actors, feel a little too broad at parts; in particular Anne, who gets sidelined in much of the film in favor of David, who at times toggles between being the main character and a silent observer in the film. All natural energy, it’s Ms. Youn who gets the most pizzazz-y role in her portrayal of those typical “cool and cranky” elders found in movies like this, which is entertaining no doubt but nevertheless starts to feel like an archetype. Also, just want to give a special shout out to Will Patton as the kindly, if a little off, “neighbor” to Paul and his family; a character that at times feels like the most interesting thanks to Patton’s natural command of his character’s quirks.
By the final scene, where moments of personal tragedy and familial bonding collide, MINARI reveals itself to be a fine, if familiar, film. It’s always nice to see a different corner of America viewed through a new set of eyes and Chung is more than adept at adopting those unique lifestyles and rhythms of his subjects, but even then his film still somehow feels like something we’ve seen before. In witnessing the pursuit of the American Dream through the journey of a Korean-American family, MINARI is equally its own while falling victim to the rhythms of its own subgenre.
3.5/5
