Minari (film)
Minari (Korean: 미나리; lit. water celery; [minaɾi]) is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. It stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. A semi-autobiographical take on Chung's upbringing, the plot follows a family of South Korean immigrants who move to rural Arkansas during the 1980s.[6]
Minari
Lee Isaac Chung
- Steven Yeun
- Han Ye-ri
- Alan Kim
- Noel Kate Cho
- Youn Yuh-jung
- Will Patton
- January 26, 2020 (Sundance)
- December 11, 2020 (United States)
115 minutes[1]
United States
- Korean
- English
Minari had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, winning both the U.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 via virtual cinema on February 12, 2021, by A24.
The film received critical acclaim, with praise for Chung's direction and screenplay, Yeun's and Youn's performances, and the score. Many named it one of the best films of 2020. It earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay, 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, was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and earned six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film Not in the English Language. It has since been cited as one of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century.[8][9][10][11]
Plot[edit]
In 1983, the Korean immigrant Yi family moves from California to a new plot of land in rural Arkansas, 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; he digs a well in a spot he finds himself. He enlists the help of Paul, an eccentric local man and Korean War veteran. Jacob is optimistic about the life ahead, but 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 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. 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 adjust to life in Arkansas and bond with the children. The well Jacob dug runs dry. He 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 canceling their order at the last minute, but perseveres despite Monica's 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 her after she teaches him hwatu, 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 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 for 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 his crops' success is more important to him than their family's stability. After an emotional argument, the two agree to separate.
During their absence, Soon-ja accidentally sets the barn containing the produce on fire. Upon arriving home, Jacob rushes in to save the crops, and Monica soon follows. But the fire grows out of control, and they decide to save each other, leaving the barn to burn. Distraught and confused, Soon-ja wanders off. 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. Her grandchildren lead her back home. The family is asleep on the floor, collapsed from fatigue. Soon-ja watches 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 has grown successfully, with Jacob noting how good a spot Soon-ja picked to plant it.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Chung had initially hoped to make an adaptation of My Ántonia by Willa 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 upbringing.[13] Chung went to a library and wrote down some personal memories that he used as a basis for the story.[14]
Chung wrote the screenplay for Minari in 2018 shortly before taking on an instructor position at the Asia Campus of the University of Utah at Songdo, Incheon, South Korea.[15] He drew from his childhood growing up on a farm in Arkansas. He cited Cather and Fyodor Dostoevsky as inspirations during the writing process, recalling the former's saying "that her life really began when she stopped admiring and started remembering" as a motivation to draw on his own experiences.[15] In an interview with The 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."[16]
Chung wrote the script in English. Some dialogue was translated into colloquial Korean[17] by Hong Yeo-ul, in consultation with Chung and the actors.[18] Han and Youn assisted in the translation efforts.[12]
In early 2019, Christina Oh and Plan B Entertainment signed on as producers on the film. Oh later brought on A24 to distribute the film.[15][19]
Casting[edit]
In July 2019, it was announced that Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton and Scott Haze had joined the film's cast.[19]
Han initially felt she could not participate because she needed to film Nokdu Flower, and suggested Chun Woo-hee as an alternate as she felt it was important that a Korean-born woman portray Monica.[20] 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.[20]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began in July 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[21][22] Filming lasted 25 days. In order to make a deadline for Sundance, editor Harry Yoon edited the film as production took place.[23]
During filming Han and Youn Yuh-jung lived in the same Airbnb.[20] As Youn was unknown in the U.S., unlike in South Korea, where she was a celebrity and given a lot of deference, she felt she needed to show her acting skills to a new audience.[17]
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.[24] 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.[25] According to Youn, Chung intended for Soon-ja to be alive at the end of the story.[26] Han used her own mother's life as inspiration for her portrayal of Monica.[27]
Release[edit]
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020.[28] It screened at several film festivals including Deauville,[29] Valladolid,[30] Hamptons,[31] Heartland[32] and Montclair.[33]
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.[34] But the theatrical release was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in select theaters and virtual cinemas for one week on December 11, 2020.[35] It opened theatrically on February 12, along with virtual cinema screenings through A24's website.[36] It was released on video-on-demand on February 26, 2021.[37]
It was screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival as part of 'Korean American Special Exhibition: Korean Diaspora' on 5 October 2023.[38]
Reception[edit]
Box office and VOD[edit]
As of May 27, 2021, 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.[5][4]
IndieWire reported the film likely made $150–200,000 from about 245 theaters.[39] 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.[40][41] The same weekend, the film placed fifth on Apple TV's PVOD rental charts, sixth on FandangoNow, and eighth on Google Play.[42] 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.[43][44] The weekend following its six Oscar nominations, the film made $306,000 from 786 theaters.[45]