30 for 30 — 2020: "Minari"
"Remember what we said when we got married? That we'd move to America and save each other?"
What’s this all about? I turned 30 on Sept. 26, 30 days from the start of this series. To celebrate, I’m watching one movie a day for 30 days and spending 30 minutes writing about each one. This post is about 2020. Click here for the original newsletter in the series. Other entries: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
My family has been in this country for generations. I'm not sure when we came over here, or why, or where we came over here from. I'm told Scotland by way of Ireland (maybe something to do with the Potato Famine?) and eventually to Appalachia, but that story has become yet another thing my family has told ourselves to connect us to something before, something rooted.
All of that is to say that I do not know what it's like to be a first-generation immigrant, nor what it's like to leave my home to strike out for a new life in a foreign country. But what writer-director Lee Isaac Chung has done here, in its intense specificity about one Korean-American family, speaks to everyone universally. “Minari” is about the American Dream, what we sacrifice to attain it, and what concessions we make to pursue it.
I was elated and heartbroken by this film, and overcome with a profound sense of gratitude for the sacrifices of my parents, grandparents and whatever ancestors I had along the line that led to my family being in this country, that led to me being able to be here today typing this on my laptop. That this was slotted as a foreign film in some awards shows because of its subtitles is stupid. This is an American film, through and through.
“Minari” tells the story of Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun), his wife Monica (Yeri Han), their two children David (Alan S. Kim) and Anne (Noel Cho), and Monica’s mother Grandma Soon-ja (Yuh-jung Youn) as they try to grow a life for themselves in Arkansas in the 1980s.
Jacob wants to start a produce farm. First, though, he and Monica have to work as chicken sexers just to put food on the table after they immigrate. Over the course of the film, the family learns what it’s like to live in America while desperately trying to stay rooted to their Korean heritage, all while their new neighbors ignorantly try to understand the Yi family and Korea.
At its heart, “Minari” is a family drama. Monica is unsure about moving to America in the first place and their new life is the source of a lot of marital strife with her and Jacob. At first, David doesn’t like his grandma; he says she “smells like Korea” even though he’s never been to Korea. He also has a heart condition, which makes experiencing everyday life hard for him. Anne is old enough to start to recognize the microaggressions and casual, ignorant racism of their church friends. And Soon-ja struggles with what she sees as the Americanization of her family. Some of the best scenes in this movie come from the arguments the family has about what matters most to them- holding on to their past or forging ahead with a new life in a new country.
Jacob faces multiple setbacks as he tries to achieve his dream. He declines the services of a water diviner, instead digging a well on a spot on his property that he deems good for his crops. He’s assisted in this by Paul (Will Patton), a Korean War veteran and community outcast known for doing his own thing.
(Paul and Jacob’s relationship fascinates me. Paul feels a kinship with Jacob because of the Koreans he knew in the war, and as such, is the only white person who knows even a little bit of Korean. Jacob cautiously latches onto this, somehow understanding that Paul’s eccentricities and fascination with Korea aren’t exploitative but friendly; Paul may say the wrong thing at times but he’s genuinely concerned for Jacob’s welfare. The same goes for much of the church members the family meets. They’re racist in an ignorant way, where they all want to help but are so ignorant about how to help or how to understand that their attempts at help come off as microaggressions, even though that might not be the intent. “Minari” is one of the only movies I’ve seen that understands that nuance.)
Eventually, the well runs dry, Jacob's produce vendor in Dallas cancels on him at the last minute and Jacob is forced to rely on county water for his crops.
All of this pushes Jacob and Monica’s marriage to the breaking point until Jacob admits to Monica while on a trip to Oklahoma City for a cardiologist appointment for David that the success of his produce farm is more important than the success of his family.
I won’t give away the ending, but the heartbreaking conclusion brings Jacob to a realization: Funnily enough, the crop that grows the best on his land is a Korean crop. Minari is a water celery native to East Asia, but, as Soon-ja says:
Minari is truly the best. It grows anywhere, like weeds. So anyone can pick and eat it. Rich or poor, anyone can enjoy it and be healthy. Minari can be put in kimchi, put in stew, put in soup. It can be medicine if you are sick. Minari is wonderful, wonderful!
Again, this is all a deeply specific story, one that’s semi-autobiographical for Chung. It’s heartbreaking, moving, funny, nuanced and very knowing. But it’s so dialed into something so specific that it ends up being universal. I would feel that way about it even if I hadn’t spent a few years in Korea. I hope that any movie or novel that I write is this specific and universal.
When I watch this movie, I see my own family. I see my grandfather and his brother, who are part of a long line of farmers who grew crops on East Tennessee land. I see my other grandfather, who, as the leader of a small congregation for decades, lives his life to help his community. And I think about my own parents, who grew up in that environment hearing their parents’ stories.
The American Dream, in its purest form, says that anyone can make it in this country. “Minari” earnestly believes that that is possible, and hopes that it’s still possible for people who don’t look like me.
Up next: I conclude this series with a 31st movie, and my favorite of 2021: David Lowery’s “The Green Knight.”
Letter of Recommendation
Another great movie to come from Korea within the last few years is Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” which is a genre-bending film about what happens when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Earned every single one of those Oscars it won in 2020.
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