Review of Minari (2021) by Fantasticmrme04 — 06 Jan 2021

Minari is an emotionally engaging and beautiful film. I had just learned this film existed a few weeks ago but since this film was getting such high praise I went into this with pretty high expectations. This is such a gentle yet emotionally straining film, it’s truly a special experience to watch. The plot is great it’s an entertaining and deeply engaging story. It starts off as a story that has been told before but becomes much much more. The pacing is great from the first scene until the credits role it’s well paced. The acting is great Steven Yeun and Yeri Han give great performances. Yuh-Jung Youn gives a fantastic supporting performance, she is easily one of the best parts of this film. Alan S. Kim and Noel Cho give great child performances as well.

The direction is fantastic from Lee Isaac Chung, his direction is incredibly impressive and you can tell he was very passionate about making this. The script is great it’s a memorable and very well written script. The cinematography is fantastic, this film is full of shots that are so beautiful it’ll make your jaw drop. There is a certain shot where Jacob and Monica are watching the kids playing in the hospital waiting room and the camera focuses back and forth on the two faces. That one shot perfectly captures the story of the characters in less than a minute. The editing is great and the score is great as well.

The comedy is very subtle but when there is comedy it’s wholesomely funny. In terms of the Oscars there’s a strong possibility that this will sadly be overlooked/snubbed. If this did get it’s deserved attention from the academy I feel this would probably get nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actress: Yuh-Jung Youn. The ending scenes of the film are very emotional and the last shot is just brilliant. Overall Minari is wonderfully wholesome and emotionally engaging film that is truly a special movie.