Minari

 

Minari (2020)

UNKNOWN
Various
Movie Reviews93%
PG-13
2020, Drama, 1h 55m
RT Critics’ Score: 98% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
116 wins & 247 nominations total

 

Critics Consensus

Led by arresting performances from Steven Yeun and Yeri Han, Minari offers an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of family and assimilation in 1980s America.
 

Audience Consensus

Minari is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the emotions in between. It’s a heartwarming story about family, dreams, and the struggles of immigration. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the beauty and vastness of the American landscape. And let’s not forget about young Alan Kim’s performance, which steals the show. This movie is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good story about human beings being awesome.
 
Movie Trailer

Movie Info

Storyline

Yearning to own a small patch of land and be more than a chicken sexer, the ambitious paterfamilias, Jacob Yi, relocates his Korean-American family: sceptical wife, Monica, and their children, David and Anne, from California to 1980s rural Arkansas, to start afresh and capture the elusive American Dream. However, new beginnings are always challenging, and to find out what is best for the family, let alone start a 50-acre farm to grow and sell Korean fruits and vegetables, is easier said than done. But, amid sincere promises, cultural unease, fleeting hopes, and the ever-present threat of financial disaster, Jacob is convinced that he has found their own slice of Eden in the rich, dark soil of Arkansas. Can grandma Soonja’s humble but resilient minari help the Yi family figure out their place in the world?

 
Production Company(ies)
Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon Productions,
 
Distributor
A24
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Oklahoma, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a rude gesture
 
Year of Release
2021
 

Technical Specs
  • Color:
    Color
  • Sound mix:
    Dolby Digital
  • Aspect ratio:
    2.39 : 1
  • Runtime:
    1h 55m
  • Language(s):
    Korean, English
  • Country of origin:
    United States
  • Release date:
    Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 2021 Limited
    Release Date (Streaming): Feb 26, 2021

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Minari, drama, family, assimilation, Korean-American, Arkansas, grandmother, resilience, Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton, Alan S Kim, Noel Cho, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, written by Lee Isaac Chung, produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh, reviewed by Esther Zuckerman, Mark Kermode, Tara Brady, Clarisse Loughrey, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Kevin Maher, James Luxford, Brian Eggert, Wilson Kwong, Nick Boyd, Alex Behan, Victor Pineyro, PG-13, box office gross $700.0K, A24
 

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $15,322,552
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,664,911
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,778
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,817,329
 
US/Canada gross: $3,110,580
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,383,088
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,914
US/Canada opening weekend: $193,460
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $210,408
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,651
 
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA

 
Movie Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew

Steven YeunJacobHan Ye-riMonicaYoun Yuh-jung
Steven Yeun
Jacob
Han Ye-ri
Monica
Youn Yuh-jung
Jacob
Monica
Soonja
Paul
David
Steven Yeun – Jacob
Han Ye-ri – Monica
Youn Yuh-jung – Soonja
Will Patton – Paul
Alan S. Kim – David
Noel Cho – Anne

 

Lee Isaac ChungLee Isaac ChungDede GardnerJeremy KleinerChristina Oh
Lee Isaac Chung
Lee Isaac Chung
Dede Gardner
Jeremy Kleiner
Christina Oh
Director
Writer
Producer
Producer
Producer

Director(s)
Lee Isaac Chung
 
Writer(s)
Lee Isaac Chung
 
Producer(s)
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh

 
Movie Reviews & Awards
Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
116 wins & 247 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews
Esther ZuckermanMark KermodeTara BradyClarisse LoughreyCharlotte O'Sullivan
Esther Zuckerman
Mark Kermode
Tara Brady
Clarisse Loughrey
Charlotte O’Sullivan
Thrillist
Observer (UK)
Irish Times
Independent (UK)
London Evening Standard
MINARI
  All Critics (314) | Top Critics (70) | Fresh (307) | Rotten (7)
  Chung and his cinematographer Lachlan Milne photograph the landscape beautifully, and you see how both Jacob and David can be entranced by its vastness, even for all the trouble it causes.
 
  July 29, 2021
 
  Esther Zuckerman
  Thrillist
  TOP CRITIC
  What makes this more than just another formulaic feelgood film is the grit with which Chung evokes the hardscrabble lives of his characters, balancing the dreamier elements of the drama with a naturalism that keeps it rooted in reality.
 
  April 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Mark Kermode
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  A rare film about assimilation that can be equally cherished by both poles of the American political landscape. And everybody in between.
 
  April 2, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Tara Brady
  Irish Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Minari is a story of the American Dream. But Chung’s brilliance is in how he adds depth and complexity to those foundational ideas – it’s in the spaces in between that we find love, loss, hope, and regret.
 
  April 2, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Clarisse Loughrey
  Independent (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Though two last-act sequences dovetail a little too neatly, the word that covers this cinematic experience is “raw”.
 
  April 2, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Charlotte O’Sullivan
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  It briefly drags before the closing act, but that’s hardly a complaint.
 
  April 2, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Kevin Maher
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  There’s so much going on beneath the surface of Minari, but those paying attention will find a story of immigration that is fascinating, as well as a tribute to family that will feel universal.
 
  March 2, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  James Luxford
  City AM
  Minari is the kind of film that sends the viewer into their own childhood memories.
 
  February 17, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Minari is a film that uses cultural context and nuance to explore complex family dynamics and relationships, which at its core, equates to universal emotions that anyone can relate to.
 
  February 12, 2022
 
  Wilson Kwong
  easternKicks.com
  Exploring heavy subject matter, the picture shows us a microcosm of the American Dream in vivid detail and creates an indelible family portrait.
 
  December 28, 2021
 
  Nick Boyd
  Battle Royale With Cheese
  Funny, sad, thoughtful, endearing, it’s one of those movies that gets everything right. Yes, it’s an astutely observed insight to the immigrant experience in 1980s USA, but it’s also just a great movie about human beings being awesome.
 
  October 25, 2021
 
  Alex Behan
  Stuff.co.nz
  Young Alan Kim’s performance is essential, as it serves as a rear window to a marriage filled with uncertainty and dissatisfaction. A story about the challenges of immigrating and creating a family while still wanting success. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  September 30, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Victor Pineyro
  Seventh Art Studio…

 
Movie Plot & More
Plot
Yearning to own a small patch of land and be more than a chicken sexer, the ambitious paterfamilias, Jacob Yi, relocates his Korean-American family: sceptical wife, Monica, and their children, David and Anne, from California to 1980s rural Arkansas, to start afresh and capture the elusive American Dream. However, new beginnings are always challenging, and to find out what is best for the family, let alone start a 50-acre farm to grow and sell Korean fruits and vegetables, is easier said than done. But, amid sincere promises, cultural unease, fleeting hopes, and the ever-present threat of financial disaster, Jacob is convinced that he has found their own slice of Eden in the rich, dark soil of Arkansas. Can grandma Soonja’s humble but resilient minari help the Yi family figure out their place in the world?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Youn Yuh-jung’s performance as the foul-mouthed but loving grandmother is a standout in Minari.
 
Movie Links Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes

Links
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

 
Where to Watch

Where to Watch

 
Move the ScoreLee-Isaac-Chung.jpg

Movies, Streaming