Of all the things that Minari is, at its best it’s a family movie. Not in the sense that we commonly refer to ‘family movies’, although the film doesn’t have any major profanity or graphicness and so could be viewed by all, but Minari is that great thing of an exploration of a family’s dynamics and relationships through struggle and pain where we grow to care deeply for each family member. What sets this film apart is perhaps the singularity of the tale being told and the deeply interesting aspects that set it apart from other films of this ilk, primarily in the fact that it’s about a Korean family starting a farm in Arkansas in the 1980’s. Minari is a very watchable film and very pleasant to view, however a lack of conflict does make it feel a little less impactful than it likely was intended to be. There is conflict, however certain elements land far better than others. All in all Minari is a touching film, but not perhaps one that’s overly intriguing.

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At the heart of Minari is a family simply doing the best they can. The film is written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who by all accounts has made a deeply personal film, one can see actually just how deftly the film has presented his family and how much real life elements have clearly been incorporated into the film. The film’s script and direction does ultimately weave a delicately told tale with moments of true love, compassion and anger being documented truthfully and at points even beautifully. Although the film is set in the 1980’s, it’s never explicitly mentioned and we are brought into the world through subtle details and through character’s dialogue. This level of subtlety added to the film for me in many ways, for it added a sense of place without ever underestimating its audience. The family itself is made up of Steven Yeun as father Jacob, Yeri Han as mother Monica, Alan S. Kim as son David and Noel Cho as daughter Anne, with the eventual addition of Yuh-jung Youn as grandmother Soonja. Yeun’s Jacob is a care giver and typical strong willed man attempting his absolute best to maintain wealth and happiness for his family. Repeatedly in the film we find that our characters veer away from stereotypes that could infuse a little drama into the story and are rather simply all good and honest people, which is in many ways very refreshing and endearing, but also rather uninteresting in regards to telling a narrative film. My comments on Yeun’s performance in many ways reflect my thoughts on all of the family’s performances, with them all delivering subtle and effective performances of great quality, with endearing and sincerely genuine humour at the core of all of them. Yeun as the ‘man of the house’ however does deliver some of the more dramatically effecting acting in the film and gives the film the weight of drama it does need as it continues. The way that Chung has decided to tell his story is in a manner of fragments and small moments rather than any extended scenes, we drop in with our family rather than remain with them.

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The films strongest element is without a doubt the core relationship between David and his grandmother, with Kim and Youn delivering the two finest performances of the film, despite Kim’s remarkably young age. Child performances are a difficult thing to talk about because one never really knows whether or not lightening in a bottle has been caught or not, however in regards to Kim in this film I feel that I can comment that his David is in many ways the lead character, with the most depth and humour and in many ways the most humanity. This is only extenuated by the presentation of his relationship with his grandmother, with Youn being the other strongest element of the film. Her Soonja is a deeply humorous and knowing presentation of a grandmother out of place and distant from a family she must now come to know the only way she knows how, through humour and passion. Kim’s Davis is certainly the clear standout, Youn does make perhaps more of her time, delivering many moments of painful drama as the film continues on. The cinematography of Lachlan Milne just cements how well-made a film Minari really is. All in all when it comes to a sincere and efficiently told portrait of a family, Minari achieves it goals and although in my personal opinion it is not an overly exceptional masterpiece, it is certainly a film that I enjoyed watching for the most part, even if I don’t intend to return to it anytime swiftly soon.

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An endearing and thoughtful 7/10, whose family unit is presented beautifully and elegantly with compassion, humour and heart. Multiple performances are simply sublime and the core relationship between David and his grandmother was a tremendously watchable feature, however all in all I couldn’t help but feel that the film lacked a certain punch. There is nothing wrong with a lighter film telling the story of hope that this one does, however perhaps a little more genuine conflict and drama may have led to the film being a little bit more successful in delivering that ultimate message.

P.S. I don’t know whether or not this will be just my experience, however I don’t think I will ever watch a family drama again where the son is called David without thinking of Schitt’s Creek. Every single time in this film when somebody called out young David’s name I just heard Catherine O’Hara, and when I didn’t hear her, I heard Annie Murphy. Maybe it’s just me.

-         - Thomas Carruthers