Have to admit I was hoping for more from this acclaimed and Oscar-winning film.
It's like the Academy had the chance to recognize an Asian-driven film in last year's "The Farewell," botched it, and then decided that it would lavish praise on whatever the next Asian-driven movie was, no matter whether or not it deserved it. And it's not like "Minari" is lacking in merits. It's just that it feels formulaic in a way "The Farewell" didn't, and it doesn't feel as urgent as that other movie.
The movie is largely autobiographical, so the director and screenwriter, Lee Isaac Chung, was mostly sticking to what he knows first hand. Fine with me. But that means a film set decades ago that lacks substantial dramatic conflict. It positions itself early on as a film about the immigrant experience and what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange land. But the Korean family at the film's center is pretty much accepted by the rural Arkansas community they choose as their adopted home and the main conflict transitions into a domestic drama revolving around a wife who gets frustrated at her husband's dogged pursuit of a dream that leaves the family scrounging. True to life events, maybe, but less interesting. Throw in the young child who's pampered and needs to learn that he's tougher than he thinks he is and the irascible grandma who teaches him that lesson, and you've got something it feels like we've seen many times before.
The grandmother is played by Yuh Jung Youn, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. The film also scored nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Steven Yeun as the dreamer), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
"Minari" is a solidly enough crafted film, but I found myself to be -- and I usually hate using this word -- a little bit bored by it.
Grade: B+
It's like the Academy had the chance to recognize an Asian-driven film in last year's "The Farewell," botched it, and then decided that it would lavish praise on whatever the next Asian-driven movie was, no matter whether or not it deserved it. And it's not like "Minari" is lacking in merits. It's just that it feels formulaic in a way "The Farewell" didn't, and it doesn't feel as urgent as that other movie.
The movie is largely autobiographical, so the director and screenwriter, Lee Isaac Chung, was mostly sticking to what he knows first hand. Fine with me. But that means a film set decades ago that lacks substantial dramatic conflict. It positions itself early on as a film about the immigrant experience and what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange land. But the Korean family at the film's center is pretty much accepted by the rural Arkansas community they choose as their adopted home and the main conflict transitions into a domestic drama revolving around a wife who gets frustrated at her husband's dogged pursuit of a dream that leaves the family scrounging. True to life events, maybe, but less interesting. Throw in the young child who's pampered and needs to learn that he's tougher than he thinks he is and the irascible grandma who teaches him that lesson, and you've got something it feels like we've seen many times before.
The grandmother is played by Yuh Jung Youn, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. The film also scored nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Steven Yeun as the dreamer), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
"Minari" is a solidly enough crafted film, but I found myself to be -- and I usually hate using this word -- a little bit bored by it.
Grade: B+