''Minari'' ( ko, 미나리 , ) is a 2020 American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film written and directed by
Lee Isaac Chung
Lee Isaac Chung (born October 19, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter. His debut feature ''Munyurangabo'' (2007) was an Official Selection at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the first narrative feature film in the Kinyarwanda ...
. It stars
Steven Yeun,
Han Ye-ri
Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng dial ...
,
Alan Kim
Alan Sun Kim (born April 23, 2012) is an American child actor, widely known for his critically acclaimed role in the drama film ''Minari'', for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Early life
Kim was born ...
, Noel Kate Cho,
Youn Yuh-jung
Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award, an Independent Spir ...
, and
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...
. A semi-autobiographical take on Chung's upbringing, the plot follows a family of
South Korean immigrants who try to make it in the rural United States during the 1980s.
''Minari'' had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on January 26, 2020, winning both the
U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It began a one-week virtual release on December 11, 2020, and was released theatrically and via
virtual cinema Virtual cinema is a video-on-demand streaming service facilitated by independent film distributors and art-house theaters to release new films and share profits. Under the service, part of the admission price supports a physically located theater.
...
on February 12, 2021, by
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
.
The film received critical acclaim, with many declaring it one of the best films of 2020. It earned six nominations at the
93rd Academy Awards
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...
:
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Original Score,
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
,
Best Actor (Yeun), and
Best Supporting Actress (Youn), with Youn winning for her performance, making her the first Korean to win an Academy Award for acting. It also won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film coul ...
, was nominated for the
, and earned six nominations at the
74th British Academy Film Awards
The 74th British Academy Film Awards, also known as the BAFAs (or BAFTAs), were held on 10 and 11 April 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2020 and early 2021. Presented by the British Aca ...
, including
Best Film Not in the English Language
The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Film Awards, r ...
.
Plot
In 1983, the Korean immigrant Yi family moves from California to their new plot of land in rural
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, where father Jacob hopes to grow Korean produce to sell to vendors in Dallas. One of his first decisions is to decline the services of a
water diviner
''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Anastasio ...
and he digs a well in a spot he finds on his own. He enlists the help of Paul, an eccentric local man and
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
veteran. While Jacob is optimistic about the life ahead, his wife Monica is disappointed and worries about their son David's heart condition; he is frequently told not to run due to this. Jacob and Monica work
sexing chicks at the nearby
hatchery
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled cond ...
and argue constantly while David and his sister Anne eavesdrop.
To help watch the children during the day, they arrange for Monica's mother Soon-ja to travel from South Korea. David, who is forced to share a room with her, avoids her because she does not conform to his idea of how a grandmother should be. Still, Soon-ja attempts to adjust to life in the States and bond with the children. The well that Jacob dug runs dry. Jacob is reluctant to pay for county water, but eventually is forced to do so. He runs into additional difficulties, such as the vendor in Dallas cancelling their order at the last minute. Even so, he perseveres despite Monica's vocal desire to return to California. This brings their marriage closer to a breaking point.
Meanwhile, Soon-ja takes David to plant
minari seeds by the creek. She tells him how resilient and useful the plant is, and predicts plentiful growth. David finally begins to warm to his grandmother after she teaches him
hwatu
Go-Stop (), also called Godori (, after the winning move in the game) is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu () deck. The game can be called Matgo () when only two players are playing.
The game is derived from similar Japanese fish ...
, bandages his wounds, and soothes him to sleep. Soon-ja also encourages him to do more physical activity, something his parents discourage, but she says that he is stronger than they think. Soon-ja suddenly suffers a stroke overnight. She survives with medical treatment, but is left with impaired movement and speech.
Jacob, Monica, Anne and David head to Oklahoma City for David's heart appointment and to meet a vendor to sell Jacob's produce. Although they learn that David's heart condition has dramatically improved and Jacob makes a deal to sell vegetables to a Korean grocer, Jacob also indirectly admits to Monica that the success of his crops is more important to him than the stability of their family. Following an emotional argument, the two tacitly agree to separate.
However, Soon-ja accidentally sets the barn containing the produce on fire in their absence. Upon arriving home, Jacob rushes in to save the crops, and Monica soon follows. Eventually, the fire grows out of control, and they decide to save each other while leaving the barn to burn. A distraught and confused Soon-ja begins to wander off into the distance, as Anne and David call for her to come back. Seeing that she is not responding to them, David breaks into a sprint to meet her, blocking her path. Soon-ja seems to recognize David for a moment, and reaches for his hand and the grandchildren lead her back home. The family is asleep on the floor, collapsed from the fatigue of the night before. Above them, Soon-ja is awake, in a chair, watching them sleep with a subdued expression.
Some time later, Jacob and Monica are with the water diviner who finds a spot for a well. They mark it with a stone signifying their intention to stay on the farm. Jacob and David then head to the creek to harvest the minari, which had grown successfully, with Jacob noting how good a spot Soon-ja had picked to plant them.
Cast
*
Steven Yeun as Jacob Yi
*
Han Ye-ri
Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng dial ...
as Monica Yi
*
Alan Kim
Alan Sun Kim (born April 23, 2012) is an American child actor, widely known for his critically acclaimed role in the drama film ''Minari'', for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Early life
Kim was born ...
as David Yi
* Noel Kate Cho as Anne Yi (Ji-young, )
*
Youn Yuh-jung
Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award, an Independent Spir ...
as Soon-ja ()
*
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...
as Paul
*
Scott Haze
Scott Haze (born June 28, 1983) is an American actor and filmmaker.
Known for his role in the 2013 film, ''Child of God'', where he played the role of Lester Ballard, sleeping in a cave for months and losing 45 pounds for his role in the adaptat ...
as Billy
* Jacob Wade as Johnnie
* Skip Schwink as Doctor
Production
Development
Chung had initially hoped to make an adaptation of ''
My Antonia'' by
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...
but found out that Cather did not wish for people to make film adaptations of her works. Chung felt inspiration to make a film about his own rural upbringing. Chung went to a library and wrote down some personal memories that he used as a basis for the story.
Chung wrote the screenplay for ''Minari'' in 2018 shortly before taking on an instructor position at the Asia Campus of the University of Utah in
Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
.
Chung drew from his own childhood growing up on a farm in Arkansas. He cited Cather and
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
as inspirations during the writing process, recalling the former's quote "that her life really began when she stopped admiring and started remembering" as a motivation to draw on his own experiences.
In an interview with ''The Los Angeles Times'', Chung spoke about the challenges of drawing on his family's experiences, stating "It was very difficult in the sense that I know that my parents are private people. And I didn't even tell them that I was making this film until I was in the editing room with it after I had shot it, because I was just so scared about what they would say."
Chung used English as his medium for writing the script, and the lines spoken in Korean were translated into Korean.
These parts were translated into colloquial Korean by translator Hong Yeo-ul, talking to the director and actors.
In early 2019, Christina Oh and
Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Kristin Hahn. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO o ...
signed on as producers on the film. Oh later brought on
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
to distribute the film.
Casting
In July 2019, it was announced
Steven Yeun,
Han Ye-ri
Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng dial ...
,
Youn Yuh-jung
Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award, an Independent Spir ...
,
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...
and
Scott Haze
Scott Haze (born June 28, 1983) is an American actor and filmmaker.
Known for his role in the 2013 film, ''Child of God'', where he played the role of Lester Ballard, sleeping in a cave for months and losing 45 pounds for his role in the adaptat ...
had joined the cast of the film.
Han Ye-ri initially felt she could not take the role as Monica Yi due to her needing to film ''
Nokdu Flower'' and had suggested
Chun Woo-hee
Chun Woo-hee (born April 20, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2004, but first drew attention with her supporting role as a rebellious teenager in the 2011 box-office hit '' Sunny''. In 2014, Chun received critical ac ...
as an alternate as she felt it was important a Korean-born woman portrayed Monica.
[ Han Ye-ri stated that Monica, of the principal characters, "seemed to be the most Korean" due to the character's difficulties with living in the United States, and she felt it was important an actress born in South Korea, natively speaking Korean, take the role.]
Filming
Principal photography began in July 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Filming lasted 25 days. In order to make a deadline for Sundance, editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
Harry Yoon edited the film as production took place.
During filming Han and Youn Yuh-jung lived in the same Airbnb
Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 b ...
.[ As Youn Yuh-jung was unknown in the United States, unlike in South Korea where she was a known celebrity and was given a lot of deference, she felt she needed to show her acting skills with a new audience.][
Youn Yuh-jung previously lived in the United States and used that experience in her performance. Lee Isaac Chung told her not to play Soon-ja in the way Chung's grandmother was, a move welcomed by Youn Yuh-jung. Chung also took Youn's suggestions, including one where her character takes back money her daughter had just put into a church collection plate, even though Chung's religious background gave him some hesitation about including that idea. According to Youn, Chung intended for Soon-ja to be alive at the end of the story.
]
Music
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on January 26, 2020. It screened at several film festivals including Deauville
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...
, Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
, Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...
, Heartland
Heartland or Heartlands may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution
* Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States
* Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
and Montclair.
Initially, the film was set for release in a limited release on December 11, 2020, before slowly expanding to a wide release on February 12, 2021. However, the theatrical release was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in select theaters and virtual cinema Virtual cinema is a video-on-demand streaming service facilitated by independent film distributors and art-house theaters to release new films and share profits. Under the service, part of the admission price supports a physically located theater.
...
s for one week on December 11, 2020. It opened theatrically on February 12, along with virtual cinema screenings through A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
's website. It was released on video-on-demand on February 26, 2021.
Reception
Box office and VOD
, ''Minari'' has grossed $3.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide of $15.5 million.
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
reported the film likely made $150–200,000 from about 245 theaters. It ended making $193,000 on its first weekend. It made an estimated $63,000 in its second weekend and $53,000 in its third, for a running total of $251,000. The same weekend, the film placed fifth on Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
's PVOD rental charts, sixth on FandangoNow
Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films ...
, and eighth on Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
. It made $68,000 in its fourth weekend in the U.S., as well as $2.2 million in South Korea and $1 million in Australia and New Zealand, then $56,000 in its fifth weekend. The weekend following its six Oscar nominations, the film made $306,000 from 786 theaters.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, of reviews were positive, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Led by arresting performances from Steven Yeun and Yeri Han, ''Minari'' offers an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of family and assimilation in 1980s America." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
assigned the film a weighted average score 89 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' gave the film a positive review, writing "''Minari'' is modest, specific and thrifty, like the lives it surveys. There's nothing small about it, though, because it operates at the true scale of life." Nicholas Barber at the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
rated the film 5/5, stating that "Sensitively written and acted, beautifully shot, and with a charming, sparingly used score, ''Minari'' is so engaging that it's easy to forget how radical it is." Reviewing the film for the ''
'', Lindsey Bahr gave the film 4/4 stars, reporting "One of the great triumphs of ''Minari'' is its presentation of authentic childhood. These kids are not saints or stand-ins or mouthpieces. They are their own persons."
'' rated the film 4/5, writing that "Lee Isaac Chung's tender story is a finely-observed portrait of family relations and rural American values". Benjamin Lee at ''
'' also rated the film 4/5, stating "The autobiographical story of a Korean American family trying to sustain a farm in rural Arkansas has deservedly become the festival's most universally loved film".
''Minari'' appeared on 68 critics' year-end top-10 lists, including first place on five year-end lists and second place on nine year-end lists.
and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the
nominations. It also received three
. The determination that the film would be eligible for this category rather than
, based on the Globes' rule that any film with over 50% of its dialogue not in English would be considered a Foreign Language Film, invited controversy.
was subject to the same rule the previous year, wrote that "I have not seen a more American film than #Minari this year. It's a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterize American as only English-speaking."
wrote that the "decision speaks powerfully to the issue of what makes something — a language or a person or a culture — foreign." Many other filmmakers, actors, and authors, including
criticized the decision on similar grounds.
, list =
{{Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
{{Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film
{{Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film