| Minari | |
|---|---|
.png) Release poster | |
| Directed by | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Written by | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Lachlan Milne |
| Edited by | Harry Yoon |
| Music by | Emile Mosseri |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | A24 |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $2 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $15.5 million[4][5] |
Minari (Korean: 미나리;lit. water celery;[minaɾi]) is a 2020 Americandrama film written and directed byLee Isaac Chung. It starsSteven Yeun,Han Ye-ri,Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho,Youn Yuh-jung, andWill Patton. A semi-autobiographical take on Chung's upbringing, its plot follows a family ofSouth Korean immigrants who move to ruralArkansas during the 1980s.[6]
Minari had its world premiere at the2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, winning both theU.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award.[7] It began a one-week virtual release on December 11, 2020, and was released theatrically and viavirtual cinema on February 12, 2021, byA24.
The film received critical acclaim, with praise for Chung's direction and screenplay, Yeun's and Youn's performances, and the score. Both theNational Board of Review and theAmerican Film Institute namedMinari one of the best films of 2020, and it has since been cited asone of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century.[8][9][10] At the93rd Academy Awards, it earned six nominations, includingBest Picture, and wonBest Supporting Actress for Youn, who became the first Korean actor to win an Oscar.Minari also won theGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, was nominated for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and earned six nominations at the74th British Academy Film Awards, includingBest Film Not in the English Language.
In 1983, theSouth Korean immigrant Yi family moves fromCalifornia to a plot of land inArkansas, where the father, Jacob, believes the soil is fertile and hopes to growKorean produce to sell to vendors inDallas. One of his first decisions is to decline the services of awater diviner; he digs a well in a spot he chooses himself. He enlists the help of Paul, an eccentricKorean War veteran who is fervently religious and occasionallyspeaks in tongues. Jacob is optimistic, but his wife, Monica, is disappointed with themobile home and the distance from urban amenities, especially a hospital for their son David, who has a heart condition. They monitor David'sheart murmurs and frequently tell him not to run. The couple worksexing chicks at a nearbyhatchery and argue frequently while David and his sister, Anne, eavesdrop.
To watch the children during the day, Monica's mother, Soon-ja, travels from South Korea to live with them. Forced to share a room with her, David avoids her because she does not fit his idea of a grandmother. Still, Soon-ja attempts to bond with the children and adjust to life in the United States. The well Jacob dug runs dry. He is forced to pay for county water, and they eventually lose water in the home. He runs into additional difficulties when the vendor in Dallas cancels an order for their produce at the last minute. He perseveres despite Monica's desire to return to California, straining their marriage.
Soon-ja takes David to plantminari seeds by the creek, which she has brought with her from South Korea. She tells him how resilient and useful the plant is and predicts plentiful growth. David finally begins to warm to her after she teaches himhwatu, bandages his wounds, and soothes his fears over his heart condition. Soon-ja also encourages him to do more physical activity, saying he is stronger than his parents think. Soon-ja then suffers astroke overnight. She survives but is left with impaired movement and speech. Monica considers moving back to California with Soon-ja, with David going with them if his health does not improve.
The family leaves Soon-ja at home while they head toOklahoma City for David's heart appointment and to meet a vendor for Jacob's produce. They learn that David's condition has dramatically improved, and he will not need surgery, and Jacob makes a deal to sell vegetables to a Korean grocer. But Jacob also indirectly admits to Monica that his crops' success is more important to him than their family's stability and, after an emotional argument over whether they can support each other only during good times, the two agree to separate.
During their absence, Soon-ja accidentally sets fire to the barn containing the produce. On arriving home, Jacob rushes in to save the crops, followed by Monica. The fire grows out of control, and they save each other, leaving the barn to burn. Distraught and overwhelmed with guilt, Soon-ja wanders off while Anne and David call for her to return. David runs to her and blocks her path, before she takes his hand, and her grandchildren lead her back home. That night, the exhausted family sleeps together on the floor, as Soon-ja sits and watches over them.
Some time later, the water diviner guides Jacob and Monica to a spot to dig a new well, signifying their intention to stay. Jacob and David head to the creek to harvest the successfully grown minari, with Jacob noting that Soon-ja picked a good spot to plant it.
Chung had initially hoped to make an adaptation ofMy Ántonia byWilla Cather but found out that Cather did not want film adaptations of her works to be made. He was inspired to make a film about his childhood instead.[12][13]
Chung wrote the screenplay forMinari in 2018 shortly before taking on an instructor position at the University of Utah Asia Campus inSongdo, South Korea.[14] He cited Cather andFyodor Dostoevsky as inspirations during the writing process, recalling the former's saying "that her life really began when she stopped admiring and started remembering".[14] In an interview withThe Los Angeles Times, Chung spoke about the challenges of drawing on his family's experiences: "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."[15]
Chung wrote the script in English. Some dialogue was translated into colloquial Korean[16] by Hong Yeo-ul, in consultation with Chung and the actors;[17] Han and Youn assisted in the translation efforts.[11]
In early 2019,Christina Oh andPlan B Entertainment signed on as producers of the film. Oh later brought onA24 to distribute it.[14][18]
In July 2019, it was announced thatSteven Yeun,Han Ye-ri,Youn Yuh-jung,Will Patton, andScott Haze had joined the film's cast.[18]
Han initially felt she could not participate because she needed to filmNokdu Flower and suggestedChun Woo-hee as an alternate, as she felt it was important that a Korean-born woman portray Monica.[19] Han said that, of the main characters, Monica "seemed to be the most Korean", due to her difficulties with living in the U.S., and she felt it was important an actress born in South Korea, natively speaking Korean, take the role.[19]
Principal photography began in July 2019 inTulsa, Oklahoma.[20][21] Filming lasted 25 days. In order to make a deadline forSundance,editor Harry Yoon edited the film as production took place.[22]
Youn previously lived in the U.S. and drew on that experience in her performance. Chung told her not to play Soon-ja like Chung's grandmother, a direction Youn welcomed.[23] 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 made him hesitant about that idea.[24] According to Youn, Chung intended for Soon-ja to be alive at the end of the story.[23] Han used her own mother's life as inspiration for her portrayal of Monica.[25]
The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020.[26] It screened at several other festivals, includingDeauville,[27]Valladolid,[28]Hamptons,[29]Heartland,[30] andMontclair.[31]
Initially, the film was set for a limited release on December 11, 2020, before slowly expanding to a wide release on February 12, 2021.[32] However, the theatrical release was curtailed due tothe COVID-19 pandemic. It came out in select theaters andvirtual cinemas for one week on December 11, 2020.[33] It opened theatrically on February 12, along with virtual cinema screenings through A24's website.[34] It was released on video-on-demand on February 26, 2021.[35]
Minari was screened at the28th Busan International Film Festival as part of "Korean American Special Exhibition: Korean Diaspora" on October 5, 2023.[36]
As of 27 May 2021[update],Minari had grossed $3.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide of $15.5 million.[5][4]
IndieWire reported the film likely made $150–200,000 from about 245 theaters.[37] 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.[38][39] The same weekend, the film placed fifth onApple TV's PVOD rental charts, sixth onFandangoNow, and eighth onGoogle Play.[40] 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.[41][42] The weekend following its sixOscar nominations, the film made $306,000 from 786 theaters.[43]
OnRotten Tomatoes, 98% of 318 reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. 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."[44]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score 89 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[45]
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times 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."[46] Nicholas Barber at theBBC rated the film 5/5, writing, "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."[47] Reviewing the film for theAssociated Press, Lindsey Bahr gave the film 4/4 stars, reporting, "One of the great triumphs ofMinari is its presentation of authentic childhood. These kids are not saints or stand-ins or mouthpieces. They are their own persons."[48]
Robbie Collin ofThe Telegraph rated the film 4/5, writing, "Lee Isaac Chung's tender story is a finely observed portrait of family relations and rural American values". Benjamin Lee atThe Guardian also rated the film 4/5, writing, "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".[49]
FilmmakerBong Joon-ho praised the film, saying, "I think it takes a lot of courage to shoot a film about yourself or your family, since it's autobiographical. But what I appreciated more about this film is that it doesn't wallow in nostalgia. It's a story about [Chung], but there's a sense of distance too. So rather than it being about the history and story of a Korean immigrant family, the film can appeal to families all over the world or anyone who still carries the memories of their parents."[50]
Minari appeared on 68 critics' year-end top-ten lists, including first place on five year-end lists and second place on nine.[51] In 2023, it ranked ninth onCollider's list of "The 20 Best Drama Movies of the 2020s So Far".[52]Marie Claire also included it on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of All Time."[53]
The May 2021 issue ofNew York Magazine listsMinari as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."[54]
In 2024, the websiteLooper ranked it number 34 on its list of "50 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time", writing, "Everyone has got a story to tell and the quietly powerful filmmaking ofMinari conveys this truth magnificently. That's not the only place Chung's directorial vision impresses, though, as subtly detailed instances of filming things through the points-of-view of other characters — as well as the specific details of each central family member — reflect what a masterfully conceived project this is."[55] In June 2025,IndieWire ranked the film at number 86 on its list of "100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)".[56]
Minari premiered at the 2020Sundance Film Festival, where it received theU.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by theAmerican Film Institute[57] and theNational Board of Review, and received six nominations at the93rd Academy Awards:Best Picture,Best Director,Best Original Score,Best Original Screenplay,Best Actor (Yeun), andBest Supporting Actress (Youn).[58] It also received threeScreen Actors Guild Award nominations, tenCritics' Choice Movie Awards nominations, and sixIndependent Spirit Award nominations.
At the78th Golden Globe Awards (given by theHollywood Foreign Press Association), the film won forBest Foreign Language Film.[59] The determination that the film would be eligible for this category rather thanBest Motion Picture – Drama, 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.[60][61][62][63]Lulu Wang, whose filmThe Farewell was subject to the same rule the previous year, wrote: "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."[60] AuthorViet Thanh Nguyen wrote that the "decision speaks powerfully to the issue of what makes something—a language or a person or a culture—foreign".[64] Many other filmmakers, actors, and authors, includingDaniel Dae Kim,Simu Liu,Harry Shum Jr.,Franklin Leonard,Phil Lord,Nia DaCosta,Celeste Ng,Min Jin Lee, andPhillipa Soo, criticized the decision on similar grounds.[65]
Minari as a whole is...for which I was grateful.
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