Reviews by:
@the_owlseyes
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It's hard to leave where we've grew up and where we've built up our family. Leaving our country, our warm and comfortable nest, to move to one another is hard. It doesn't matter why we're doing it, because it'll always be tough. It's a leap of faith inthe unknown and we don't know how it will go. Living without certainties is extremely stressing and could put you and your family on the brink of collapse. Unity will emerge after a while because our family is where our roots are located. We won't be alone because the people, the one who start as strangers, will help us integrate into the new enivronment, giving us the possibility to bring something new to our new town. Everything will get better, because it always does. The risk you've taken will seem as the thing which pushed you up and let you become something more, something which is an inspiration for the ones you love. You just have to take it.
PLOT
"A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas" or "The American Dream's failure".
SCRIPT
Every character, even some of the secondary ones, is analyzed in depth. It's interesting how every member of the family has its quirks and a role in every event which involves the group. It's an ensemble story and, in fact, this movie themes are family, immigration, the hardship of integration in another society and how work could leave you unfullfilled. Grandma is the best character, because she has the best arch, which is kinda tragic. She starts as the one who keeps the family afloat and she ends being the one who drags them down, ripping apart the family. The movie title is heavily linked to the family and the fact that korean people immigrates to the States to find a better life. Minari, which has other name like Japanese Celery and Indian Pennywort, has the same adaptability showcased the family and the idea to let them farm it is genious. The last act is where all comes crumbling down but Minari is what endures, leaving an open ending about the fate of Davida and Monica's marriage and hope for David. It's a wonderful script which is simple and genuine, a thing which is rare today.
Script: 9/10
ACTING
Steven Yeun and Yun-Jung Youn deliver their best performance yet and it helps elevate the movie to a status which exceeded my expectations. I think that, in a way, all the actor involved here do a wonderful job, by showing a wide span of emotions and feelings. I think that Youn is the best here, because her performance has everything and his character is the best of the bunch, because it shifts from the most hopeful to an hopeless one. I find Will Patton performance the quirkiest because he embodies a believer who made religion and prayers is purpose in life. Overall there's a pretty high quality of acting.
Acting: 8/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
I liked how colours are used here. Green, yellow and red are all used in a symbolich way to underline a certain emotion or a sense of impending death. There's also white, which characterizes the workplaces, to show how these lack emotions and connections. Light is used with wit and it's never plain or boring. Shadows and darkness are extremely relevant and I think that the amount of lighting an darkness in every scene tells you how things are going for the family which the movie is about. In fact the light tends to dim and is overcome by darkness in the climax, to underline the hardship which the characters are experiencing.
Photography: 8/10
EDITING
Not particularly exceptional but it works. It's effective without delving in unwanted effects and such. It's so simple and, in a way, homely that there isn't a lot to say about it.
Editing: 6/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
There's a lack of these fortunately and it's perfect. The movie is believable and every event is wonderfully grounded in real life. In an industry where cgi is becoming too common and oveused, a movie like that is able to be original and break the mold.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
Tender and quiet, it gives you a sense of incredible stillness which sets perfectly the movie's tone and enhance the relevance of certain scenes, the ones about emotions drama. It isn't the best soundtrack I've ever heard but it's one of the most effective, because it achieves a lot without a lot of effort. Sometimes a music which stays in the background help the scenes to be more poignant. I like the fact that most of the time there's no soundtrack to give a sense of realism. I could say that this movie strength is its neatness.
Soundtrack: 7/10
COSTUMES
Nothing interesting about it. The clothes fit the period and the setting but I don't think that these bring something remarkable to the movie.
Costumes: 6/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 9/10
Acting: 8/10
Photography: 8/10
Editing: 6/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 7/10
Costumes: 6/10
AVERAGE: 7,14
An emotional movie with good acting, wonderful characters and a lot of symbolism. I find it extremely compelling because it tells a story which, I think, everyone could understand and this is what makes special. Simpleness is what elevates this motion picture and the themes touched let it catch your attention with realism and the life of normal people who try to build a new life in a foreign country. See it if you want to know how life is from the point of view of people from another country or to see what happens when a person take the risk to go abroad and how it changes him.
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Screenplay: Lee Isaac Chung
Cast: Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton
Soundtrack: Emile Mosseri
Cinematography: Lachlan Milne
Running Time: 115 minutes
Budget: $2 million
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