"Minari": Movie Review
Director/ writer Lee Isaac Chung's ("Lucky Life") art piece "Minari" is a painstakingly accurate portrayal of a Korean family's struggle to make it in America. With excellent performances by Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn further complemented with a terrific soundtrack, there's a lot to find yourself drawn to. But the film's inability to generate a climactic gut-punch is a disappointing outcome and one that was expected from an Oscar-nominated film.
In the 1980's Arkansas, a family of four fight to make ends meet on their new farm.
A24's latest production is undeniably charming but exceedingly ordinary. The storytelling derives its successes from the actors themselves rather than the plot decides that Chung wants the audience to engage with. However, besides the acting by Yeun and Youn, none of the characters feel fleshed out enough to identify with, and more than a few times come across as distractingly silly.
Throughout we are given a trail to inevitably follow, but it rarely leads down toward something uniquely insightful. While "Minari" does not come together as well as one might hope, there's still an interesting tale to be told. Even with a good amount of frustrating elements peppered throughout, there's also just enough sweetness squeezed in to make it a worthwhile commentary on the American dream.
Comments
Post a Comment