Watch Minari

Minari is a heartfelt and moving drama film about a Korean American family that moves from California to rural Arkansas in the 1980s to start a farm. The movie centers on Jacob (Steven Yeun), a determined and ambitious father who wants to give his family a better life by growing Korean vegetables to sell to local markets. His wife Monica (Yeri Han) is initially skeptical of the move and worried about their family’s future, but she decides to support her husband’s dreams and start fresh in Arkansas for the sake of their two children, Anne (Noel Kate Cho) and David (Alan Kim).

As the family settles into their new home, they face various challenges and struggles that test their courage and faith in each other. Jacob works tirelessly to cultivate the land and fend off pests while Monica works at a local chicken hatchery to make ends meet. Anne, who has a heart murmur, is a typical teenager struggling to adjust to a new school and make friends. David, the youngest member of the family, is curious, playful, and full of imagination. He forms a special bond with his grandmother Soonja (Yuh-Jung Youn), who comes from Korea to help take care of him while Monica works.

Throughout the movie, we see the family’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations clash with the harsh realities of rural life, cultural differences, and familial tensions. We see the family face financial hardships, relationship strains, and cultural clashes with their white American neighbors. However, we also see the family grow and evolve as they learn to adapt, persevere, and cherish the small moments of joy and love that sustain them.

At the heart of the movie is the theme of the American dream and what it means to be an immigrant in America. Jacob and Monica are determined to succeed at any cost, even if it means sacrificing their own well-being and happiness. They want their children to have a better life than they did and to never forget their roots and identity as Koreans. However, their dreams are challenged by their own cultural differences, lack of resources, and the realities of rural America. The movie shows the struggles and complexities of assimilation, acculturation, and identity formation for immigrants and their children.

Another theme of the movie is family dynamics and the generational divide. Jacob and Monica have different ideas and values about what it means to be a good parent and spouse, and they struggle to communicate and understand each other. Anne and David are caught in between their parents’ conflicting expectations and desires, and they are forced to navigate their own identities and aspirations. Soonja, the grandmother, represents a bridge between the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, and she brings a sense of humor, wisdom, and love to the family despite her own challenges and limitations.

The acting in the movie is superb, especially by Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn, who deliver nuanced, poignant, and honest performances. The cinematography by Lachlan Milne captures the beauty and harshness of the Arkansas landscape, and the music by Emile Mosseri adds emotional depth and resonance to the story.

In conclusion, Minari is a beautiful and powerful movie that tells a universal story of family, identity, and the American dream through the lens of a Korean American family. It is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on your own journey and struggles. It is a movie that celebrates the diversity and resilience of the human experience and reminds us of the importance of love, hope, and perseverance.

Minari is a 2021 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 55 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.4 and a MetaScore of 89.