"MINARI" AN WATER PLANT OF KOREA HELPS LEE ISAAC CHUNG TO TELL US A STORY OF HIS OWN CHILDHOOD BY THIS ACCLAIMED FILM.
Movie name: Minari Genre: Family Drama.
Writer-director: Lee Isaac Chung Cinematography: Lachlan Milne Editor: Harry Yoon
Starring: Steven Yeun as Jacob, Han Ye-ri as Monica, Alan S. Kim as David, Noel Cho as Anne,
Youn Yuh-Jung as Sonja and Will Patton as Paul.
Ratings:
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% as Tomatometer, 89% as the audience score.
Metacritic: 89% metascore, 8.3 user score.
Minari is a film that in its nature is explicitly semi-autobiographical. Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung takes us to his childhood days, vividly describing his growing up in a Korean-American family along with the fertile Arkansas dirt through this colorful spellbinding family drama. The movie primarily emphasizes family and through family, it touches the aspect of individuality by presenting subtle characterization of every member of it to the audience. During the 1980’s South Korean immigrants who had made it to America with the hope of prosperity in their life, Minari represents them candidly.
What the title ‘Minari’ actually means? The answer is- simply a water plant of Korea. It is a plant of versatility. it can be grown almost anywhere without the least nurturing. Also, it can be used in almost every Korean recipe and as an herb. This Korean plant resides as a metaphor for this film which represents Korean people on American soil weaving hopes with resiliency and usefulness into them. As Minari can be grown everywhere almost with no care yet gives away all its precious values selflessly, Koreans are also capable of providing values without the least appreciation and acknowledgment. The simplicity and Spartan lives of a Korean family along with their difficulties and day-to-day challenges in rural America are what audiences are catching the most in this film.
There is a concept called ‘Paradox of Duality’ which means nothing could exist without its opposites or contrary, or not in the way our limited understanding could fathom it to. I could relate this concept to this film while Jacob and Monica were carrying their very own aspirations, expectations, and desires in their minds yet found it quite contradictory to their family. Jacob was resentful of his job at the local hatchery as the chicken sexer so was Monica about the mobile house they were in because of Jacob’s aspiration to become a farmer. It might seem that both of them were being curbed as individuals because of their family and the responsibility that they were entrusted upon but the film compliments this contradiction between family and individuality. Jacob was working as a chicken sexer so was Monica along with him to support the family. Simultaneously he was working for his passion which is to farm Korean veggies on American soil to cater to the Korean market in America. Monica was trying to adapt to their new mobile home for the sake of the family. Both of them thinking and adjusting their situation by mutual understanding which is healthy for a family and co-existence after all. It is not like Jacob and Monica were in an ideal marriage without contention or disagreement but there were some bitter arguments between them that we can see in the movie which gives us the sense of vulnerability of their relationship and a potential threat of a marriage failure. But what gives them a slight sprinkle of hope and restrain from acting emotionally is the responsibility towards their son David and daughter Anne. David. Due to his heart condition which is overworked needed extra care and attention. Monica was worried about him a great deal. The disappointment of Monica mostly revolves around the fact that David is weak-hearted and their family’s economic condition was not so bright to support any unexpected collapse of his fragile health. Moreover, she thinks Jacob is more concerned and consumed by his passion for farming than their son's health. On the other hand, Anne was sincere, always trying to be more useful and responsible to the family by taking good care of his brother while their parents were at work.
Soonja, grandma of David is probably the character that the writer-director made to support this Korean-American family in its difficult times while living at a mobile house in Arkansas. Soonja came from Korea to visit his daughter Monica. She sensed difficulties in the family in a way right after reaching their rural mobile home. So she helped by giving money to her daughter Monica. She was supportive while needed the most like looking after David and Anne while Jacob and Monica were at the hatchery also advising her daughter how to tackle difficult situations down. Soonja was more of an angel than any other else in the family of Jacob and Monica. Initially after watching the film one may find it quite perplexing whether Soonja’s character in this film helping Jacob and Monica to deal with their difficulties like an actual angel or helping to get things even more worse for them. Indeed Soonja also came with its problems that could be additional burdens like when she got her stroke it was quite hazardous or rather burdensome to the family. Moreover, when accidentally the outhouse caught fire where Jacob used to store all of his produce to sell due to Sonja's inability to control it while disposing of the household waste by burning, it seemed like an outsider was trying to disrupt this family in a way. The writer portrays Soonja’s character as intriguing as it suits the narrative by adding some additional layers to it like the angel is in disguise.
Paul was that character in this film whom you discover as unconventional. Quite weird. You wouldn’t see this type of character usually in films. Paul was honest, supportive, religious, spiritual, hard-working moreover full of friendliness in him. He couldn’t harm anyone as he was selfless. He was indeed a little weird in his nature, unconventional but eventually, you would wish if you could get a friend like him as Jacob did in his difficult times. Assurance with authenticity is what Paul brings with his weirdness to Jacob’s life simply by helping him on the farm and supporting him in bad times.
Minari is a film about family, hope, finding one’s own identity through family and tells us a sweet mellow tragedy wrapped by colorful nature. Because of its simplicity, it is special. Something simple but essential and useful is what Minari is after all. This film already basketed several prestigious awards like the winner of the top prize(U.S GRAND JURY PRIZE: DRAMATIC)at the Sundance film festival 2020 and also nominated in six categories for Oscar 2021 including best picture, best director, best actor, and best original screenplay.