Minari feat. Inkoo Kang
The Hollywood Reporter critic joins us to talk about a refreshing Asian American immigrant story
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Minari, Lee Isaac Chung’s new semi-autobiographical film about a Korean American family that moves to rural Arkansas in the 1980s.
We are joined by special guest Inkoo Kang, who is a TV critic for The Hollywood Reporter, a fantastic culture writer, and a great person to follow on Twitter.
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02:38 Minari, playing in some theaters and on A24’s virtual screening room (and hopefully streaming elsewhere soon), is a welcome addition to the growing new canon of Asian American films.
Performances: Yuh-jung Youn, who plays the grandmother, is a standout in a strong ensemble cast. Her performance — both comic and tragic — is imbued with a core of earthiness that is delightful to watch. Steven Yeun and Ye-ri Han are also understated but powerful, and the kids Alan Kim and Noel Kate Cho brought life to their respective roles, too.
Asian American and immigrant narratives: The setting and the working-class background are somewhat novel for an “Asian American” film, especially given the run of works that share a lineage with Crazy Rich Asians. You get the sense of the Korean American immigrant blueprint, i.e., moving from Korea to a Korean community in California, but here middle-of-nowhere, Arkansas is the final destination. The film is infused with these primordial immigrant questions — e.g., what coming here worth it? — that feel both personal and grounded in first-hand experience.
Korean masculinity and fatherhood: Jacob (Yeun) feels his sense of self-worth tied to his ability to provide for his family. When that ability is threatened, he might as well be thrown away from his family, he reasons. So often, immigrant fathers feel they need to be the heroes for their children — but how do you become a hero in a foreign land, when everything is working against you, and you’re both too proud and too humiliated to concede defeat?
Nature and the land: This is a theme that hasn’t been talked about as much (but, naturally, Inkoo asked Lee Isaac Chung about it in an interview): our connection to nature, and what our role should be with regards to the land. There’s the dichotomy between Jacob’s and Soon-ja’s (Youn) approach, with one trying to submit the land to his force, the other more gentle and organic. There’s also a dreamy romance to the idea of homesteading on these rolling expanses of land, so different from Korea’s somewhat mountainous terrain. It’s the call of manifest destiny, in a way.
American Dream: Maybe this was the original manifest destiny. For immigrants, the elusive idea of the “American Dream” means financial security, certainly, and possibly a form of assimilation. Often what it boils down to is: Does this justify all the trauma and suffering of leaving one’s home to start a new life in a strange country?
Recommendation: Watch Minari and Lulu Wang’s The Farewell as a double feature!!!
Where to find Inkoo
Follow her on Twitter: @inkookang
Read her thoughtful interview with Lee Isaac Chung and her piece on the promise and pitfalls of Asian American reality TV
Check out her and Daniel Schroeder’s limited podcast All About Almodóvar, about the films of Pedro Almodóvar
Bonus links
A VERY cute interview with Minari’s Alan Kim:
Who was your best friend on set?
Everybody, I guess.
The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano… what can we say except… have fun with Ben Shapiro.
What TikTok is doing to music.
Watch this video about salt making that Pelin co-produced!
Okay bye!
— Jenny
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Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu