Minari (2020)

Let us begin by addressing the hypocrisy: to classify Minari as a "foreign" film because a majority of its dialogues are in the Korean language is to mock the very idea of America as a "melting pot". There is no other movie that I can think of which falls so neatly under the category of the "great American movie" like this one, except for Paris, Texas (1984). Trope by trope, the film constitutes itself as a heartbreaking but heartwarming saga of what it means to make it in America: the most obvious one is the individualism of Jacob (Steven Yeun), his refusal to let "others" dictate what he can make out of his life, and his radical insistence on building his life for himself. Then there is the sick child David (Alan Kim), who reminds the viewer of the fragility and resilience of life. And of course, my favourite- the dynamics between David and his Korean grandmother, and how they both learn to love and live with each other, reinforcing the idea of America as the melting pot. This is why it's absurd to think of Minari as anything but an American film, when it is so rooted in American ideals. 

Now, coming to the actual story- Lee Isaac Chung deserves a standing ovation for writing each of the characters brilliantly. I felt connected to all of them, and this in turn made me look at their actions and motivations as those of individuals and not of stereotypes. Speaking of which, this movie won my heart by its depiction of Monica (Han Ye-ri), the wife who follows her husband almost begrudgingly as he follows his dreams. The "almost" is significant here- the movie never once attributed negative character traits to her, and instead chose to show her as a woman who might be frustrated by her circumstances, but is nevertheless trying her best to make it work with her husband. She might not understand him, she might be angry with him for landing her in a place completely alien to all that she has known, and most importantly, she might be scared for her children's future- but she also knows that she made a commitment and sticks to it for as long as she can, because she does respect and love her husband at the end of the day. On top of this, Han Ye-ri was exceptionally good as Monica, and I will be thinking about her performance for a long time to come. Also, I will be looking up more Han Ye-ri content because I'm a stan now. Yes, that's how we roll here.

As for the husband, I was so relieved when he wasn't glorified as the "hero". There were no unnecessary monologues or confrontations about how he is male virtue personified, and for that, I will forever be grateful. It was an interesting study of a confused man, who wanted to go off the beaten track to work on his passions and beliefs, and how this aspect of his personality, as admirable as it may on an individual level, has less than desirable effects on his family, who ended up living his dream with him, whether or not they particularly wanted to. Even though he's the reason for this story, he's never consistently the focal point of it, and that's something I truly appreciate about this film.

This "review" would be incomplete if I don't gush about my absolute favourite part of this movie- little David in his cowboy boots. As my movie partner pointed out, I have never squealed over a baby like I have over him, and that's because HE IS JUST TOO PRECOCIOUS AND PRECIOUS AND CUTE AND ADORABLE ARGH. I lost it when he said "It's not called a penis, it's called a ding dong!" and I am yet to recover. I even told one of my friends to watch this movie specifically for him (and also because of immigrant vibes, but mostly for him) BECAUSE HE IS JUST THAT GOOD. Now go watch this movie and fall in love with my little man.

In conclusion, this movie felt like a hug but also sometimes like someone was dancing on the broken pieces of my heart. But mostly a hug. I mean, that's what I feel as I write about it two days after watching it, and that's how I probably will feel about it for some time to come. And that's all I needed, recovering from the year 2020 (I need to recover from this movie too, but that's beside the point). 

PS- how gorgeous is Han Ye-ri??? I mean, SERIOUSLY HOW GORGEOUS IS SHE!!!!!!!!!