Opened: February 12, 2021

Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton, Scott Haze, Darryl Cox & Esther Moon

A beautiful story of one family’s struggle to succeed, Minari shows the ups and downs of trying to achieve the American dream.

Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun) moves his family to rural Arkansas where he buys land to grow Korean produce to sell to vendors in the nearby Dallas. With both him and his wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) working full time, they bring in Monica’s mom Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung) to help take care of their kids during the day.

Showing how immigrants combine their culture with American culture, it’s interesting to watch how the family switches between English and Korean. Jacob and Monica’s kids are growing up more American compared to their parents, and the tension shows greatly between their youngest David (Alan Kim) and his grandma.

Final say: A rich telling of the most American story. ★★★★★