Weekend Watch: Minari

A family tries to make farming work in 1980s Arkansas

Image Credit: A24 Films

Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Steven Yeun tries to make the American dream work in Arkansas.

Family stories about characters trying to make it work in America are not a new concept. Likewise immigrant tales of struggle and hardship. So for a new drama to break out and stand as a fresh spin, it needs to work hard. I’m not completely convinced that Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari completely leaps across that barrier, but it certainly offers some solid performances and a decent narrative along the way.

Drawing from his own childhood, Chung charts the story of a Korean American family led by Jacob (Steven Yeun) who uproot from where they first settled in California to a small farm in Arkansas. Jacob can see the potential in the soil even as his wife Monica (Yeri Han) despairs at the rickety steel-sided house they’ll live in while they get the place up and running. Kids David (Alan S. Kim) and Anne (Noel Cho) are mostly excited to go exploring. But, as you might expect, running a farm is no easy task, even with the help of religious eccentric Paul (Will Patton) who lives nearby. 

Chung’s film moves at a gentle pace, but doesn’t skimp on the drama between Yeung (doing some of his best work) and Han as they debate their future and try to scrape by with shifts at a local chicken factory. If you’ve ever wanted to pick up the tricks of sexing chicks, you’re in luck. Shying away from overt racism (though it’s right there in moments and an underlying subtext), Minari focuses more on the straightforward struggle to survive and thrive in an environment that has plenty of challenges. 

The arrival of Monica’s mother Soonja (Yuh-Jung Youn) adds an extra spark to the film, as the smart, foul-mouthed grandma causes chaos for both the kids and their parents. She’s funny and loving, and her deterioration later in the film is all the more heart–breaking for how it breaks her spirit. 

It’s refreshing to see this sort of story from a Korean point of view, and Chung certainly fills his film with warmth and depth. It’s the acting, though, that seems certain to stand out come awards time.

Minari is on limited release in the US now, going wider on 12 February. It will be in UK cinemas on 2 April.