"MINARI" - A Heart Touching Immigrant Drama Movie
“Minari: Where We Put Our Roots” won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for six Oscars. The story about a South Korean immigrant family appeared on the cinema screens in July 2020.
A small farm, his own piece of land where he can grow vegetables; that’s the American dream Jacob is living for. It has been ten years since he immigrated to the United States from South Korea with his wife Monica; In the mid-1980s, he now believes he has reached his goal. But Monica and the two children have a hard time recognizing the promised farm in a trailer home in the desert of Arkansas.
Arriving in a culture
Can the family really find a home here? That is the core question in “Minari”. Director Lee Isaac Chung, who himself grew up in Arkansas as a child of South Korean parents, tells of arriving in the foreign region and culture mainly from the perspective of seven-year-old David. With inquisitive, open eyes, he explores the area with his older sister – and would like to help make dad’s dream come true.
A well is built, beds laid out; and on Sunday the family sits obediently in church to connect with the rural community. But it’s not easy for David’s mother to believe in her husband’s farm project. Should she trust him if he puts the dollars they hard earned together on the chicken farm into a tractor?
Oscar for Yuh-Jung Youn for Best Supporting Actress
A lot is told in a few words in this film: about the search for a homeland, lost roots, the concern for David, who has a heart condition, and the troubled relationship between the parents. The grandmother, who flies in from South Korea and moves into the caravan with the family, plays a key role. The somewhat stubborn David doesn’t like the cranky old lady at first. She snores and swears, doesn’t bake cookies like grandmas should, and only speaks a few words of English.
Yuh-Jung Youn, who is a big acting star in South Korea, won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her portrayal of her grandmother. Her figure represents the connection between two cultures. She brings the eponymous herb “Minari” with her from home. Director Chung has her buried with her grandson in American soil.
“In Korea, it’s a plant that grows near the water and has a tendency to purify the water and the soil,” explains director Lee Isaac Chung. “In this story, it’s the one plant that really thrives on the family that just effortlessly grows on its own.”
"Minari ": Touching story
This film also feels a bit like watching a plant grow. In a slight time lapse, of course, so that the audience’s patience is not overstrained but slowly enough that all branches of the plot can carefully unfold. Those who bring the necessary calmness to the cinema will be presented with a touching story that gives an idea of the effort behind successful integration. Lee Isaac Chung bows deeply to his brave parents and so many other travelers between worlds.