Minari

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I find it very strange that this film won the Golden Globe for “Best Foreign Language Film.” Yes, it is spoken mostly in Korean, but it takes place in Arkansas and it was written and directed by American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung. I would have thought the category was reserved for films not made in the U.S. However, that said, I am glad for all the attention this little film can get. Anything that increases its number of viewers will be a good thing. Chung grew up in small town Arkansas with his sister and parents, and this film is loosely based on his own experiences. His grandmother also came to live with them and his reaction was the same as David’s in the film. And that relationship between grandmother and grandson was the real heart and the joy of this film. Yuh-jung Youn, who plays the grandmother, is absolutely the best part of this film. Her performance was at times sweet, funny, or heartbreaking. She deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This is a cast of very strong actors, including the small boy, but Youn is in a class of her own. I was actually surprised by how funny this film could be (in a very snarky way), and she was almost always at the center of that humor. But, be aware, this isn’t a comedy. Nor necessarily is it just a drama. It tells the story of a period of time in the life of a Korean family in the early 1980s in a way that feels more true to life than any one genre might contain. The story doesn’t always go where you think it will, much like real life. And, when it ends, you know that the story itself is nowhere near over. This was a touching, sweet story that felt like a deeply personal one for Chung. I’m glad to see we have space for voices like his, and I am glad for whatever happens that helps more people to be exposed to voices like his.