MINARI (2021): FILM REVIEW

MINARI (PG)

Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung

Starring Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan Kim and Noel Cho

Duration: 115 minutes

Now showing in select cinemas.

Minari was exactly the movie that I needed to see yesterday. I had been hearing a lot of buzz about it for a while, and that buzz was only made louder by its six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Often when I hear as much good hype about a film as I had about Minari I will avoid any and all plot spoilers or descriptions to allow the experience of seeing the film to be as unfiltered as possible, and not only is that exactly what I did with Minari, but it's also what I'm going to do with this review. 

I loved this film, and I can't wait to see it again. For whatever reason I was in exactly the right mood for the film - it is funny, gentle, emotional and extremely skillful in its execution. The stakes seem to be at the same time low enough to relax into the film like an armchair, while at the same time extremely high as you come to understand the emotional and cultural landscape that this family of four from Korea are experiencing as they try to make their way in 1980s Arkansas. 

The first thing I want to praise is the performances. There are a number of memorable performances, but in particular the child performances were astoundingly good. Alan Kim's performance as the young boy David has already consolidated in my mind as one of my all time favourite child performances, and for me was worth the price of admission alone - for a kid so young to be so sure-handed with material with such subtlety and nuance was something I just relished in witnessing. The parents, too, give great performances. Their lives are governed by a self-imposed need to project an image of a happy, functional family unit to their kids, and the moments where that image begins slip are some of the most emotionally resonant of the film. There is also a particularly memorable performance by Darryl Cox. 

The direction of the film is so confidently laid-back that it almost becomes its own character in the film. There was a moment early on in the film where I was filled with a rush of excitement, because I realised that the film was really going to take its time, and commit to a pace that not many films made these days have the confidence or temperament to. It's a film that finds beauty and narrative momentum in things like a quick one-on-one conversation while another is out of the room, or allowing us to slowly walk down to the creek with a young boy and his grandma. It's a film that wants to allow the time for the little interactions that happen while setting a table, or the glances two parents give each other that impart so much more than their children could ever even begin to conceive. Most of all, it feels personal. So personal that I really felt invested in this family, to the point of tears at moments that would, in another film and in the hands of another director, be relegated to transition shots or simply the cutting room floor.

The last thing I want to mention before imploring you to go and find a screening of Minari is the score. There is a fine line in films like this between a score feeling manipulative and saccharine, and a score not drawing attention to itself while supporting the emotion of the film already present, and the score by Emile Mosseri does exactly that. Without drawing attention to itself it quietly worked away at me through the fabric of the film until I realised that it was stuck in my head on the drive home from the theatre. It adds so much with such simplicity, doing exactly what the film itself is doing. 

This really is a fantastic film, and I urge you to seek it out because I found it to be really emotionally affecting. It is a film that is so at odds with everything that most modern western cinema is about these days, and it was such a refreshing reminder to me that not every film has to have world-ending stakes or editing at the pace of a bullet train. It's a rare thing for me to see an Oscar-nominated film and feel happy with the idea of it winning all of its nominated categories, but here we are. No more gushing needed, I loved Minari. 

Have you seen Minari? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the film down in the comments, or hit me up on Instagram at @bluerose.filmreview to keep the conversation going. See you next time, legends!