Minari

I don't even know where to begin with this film. There was so much to unpack this film as an Asian American that I could go on and on about how accurate the portayals and problems that this Korean American family faced. This for me is the quintessential Asian American film, made by an Asian American, for Asian Americans. This film made me feel seen in a films world where I will be so lucky to have just a sliver of representation in a film. I finally felt seen as an Asian American as my feelings and experiences were finally recognized and accepted instead of being seen as an afterthought or being brushed off. It is films like Minari that are going to continue the trend of spreading Asian American stories in film, a space where l will continue. I just hope to have touched at least one fellow Asian American in a world that doesn't spread our voices. It was so emotional for me to watch as I couldn't stop crying at some points throughout the movie. The realness of the husband wife dynamic and how one of them didn't want to leave California, while the other thought that Arkansas was a safe bet was very hard to watch. It was even harder when the kids had to deal with it as well. David and Sonja were easily the highlights of the film for me. They're dynamic as grandson and grandma was the cutest thing you ever watch. I thought that David was almost a one for one recreation Isamu from Ozu's Masterpiece お早よう or Good Morning. These two characters act the exact same way as they are both little delinquents that make stupid little potty jokes. Sonja was also such a funny naughty grandmother as she would also enable David, which furthered their relationship. The points where I couldn't hold it together were where Monica started to tell David a bed time story. I couldn't help but cry as it reminded me of my mom reading stories to me in Japanese. In this scene I looked at my mom's perspective and the possible struggles that she might have been dealing with and never told me. Also when Monica was taking with Anne about Sonja and if she's doing well. Monica blamed herself in this scene on that it was her fault she dragged her mother out here and fell ill. Another small scene that I think most people missed the significance of was when Sonja brought back all of those Korean foods from Korea. Food is such an important cultural aspect of Asian culture, and when you don't have constant access to that then you start to miss it so much. I truly miss the quality of food of Japan, even though my mother does her best with the resources that she has available in ABQ. I could talk about everything else about this film in terms of its cinematography and score, but there is just too much for me to process at the moment of how this film truly made me feel. Lee Isaac Chung thank you so so much for making something so beautiful that has resonated with me so much. 🫶