Plot Summary – A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

★★★★★ 

Watched on 25 Mar, 2021

God, I hope this wins best picture. Everything about Minari is so ethereal. It’s such a beautiful film, like visually. It’s such a bright film in a world where everything seems like it’s trying to be so gritty and dark. The fact that sunlight is the only source of light for majority of this film is such a great indicator of it’s tone and ‘vibe’. What Minari achieves in its runtime is honestly spectacular. You can be laughing in one scene and in the verge of tears in the next and then on the edge of your seat in anxiety in the one after that. It balances the tone so well while also never compromising on any feeling that it’s trying to convey. The audience is completely captured by the atmosphere of agricultural America and we see it portrayed in a very interesting way. This film is so patriotic while never pushing American imagery, symbolism or the jingoistic nationalism that usually surrounds something that’s trying to be a ‘love letter to America’. Instead, it’s subtle. It’s visceral. The performances are also phenomenal and Alan Kim as David will have my heart forever. He gives such an adorable and heart-melting performance that it’s hard not to smile whenever he appears on screen. The score is one of the best I’ve heard and it manages to capture the essence of the film so accurately. I really hope this wins Best Picture even though I know it probably won’t. I highly recommend this to everyone for sure.