Minari - Restarting Life
- vincrebas
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Minari (2020)
Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung
Runtime: 115 mins
Minari
One of a24's most beloved films following a korean american family that moves to rural Arkansas to rebuild their life into a true american dream. Amidst the challenges of new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home. A true meditation to life, showcasing the difficult challenges we all face as humans. Following a dream comes with a cost.
*This blog contains spoilers*
Jacob Yi
Jacob Portrayed by Steven Yeun is a very well written character. He is driven by a profound need to matter for both his family as himself. After working as a chicken sexer (checking the gender of baby chicks) for ten years he feels the need to change his career after he sees his life beeing washed away. He doesnt just want to survive in this life. He wants to build something that lasts. Something that truly matters, so he buys 50 acres plot in Arkansas viewing it as his "Garden of Eden".
Steven Yeun portraying Jacob Yi
Jacob is extremly stubborn and self relient. He rejects help and wants to succeed his farm by himself. He feels like he has to prove that he can conquer this land by himself. Despite loving his family a lot and building this farm for his family his ambition has driven him into serious concequences. He has blinded himself for striving to succes causing him to forget about his family and his sons health as he suffers from a bad heart. These flaws give this character such an emotional twist as you can really see he's risking to destroying the very family he's trying to provide for.
Restarting Life
In the film Grandma Soon-Ja speaks a beautiful and inspiring line as she watches Minari grow by water. "Minari is truly the best. It grows anywhere... It dies down in the first season, but comes back stronger in the second." This is the core thesis of the movie on restarting life. The "first season" of a new venture, a new relationship, or a new career move is often marked by failure, harsh winters, and things dying off. But that decay fertilizes the soil. True resilience is a "second-season" event—it's what comes back after you've been tested.
It truly teaches us that restarting your life can get extremely messy and rarely goes according to plan, but so long you stop fighting against it and accept the failures along the way you eventually take root and grow exactly where you are. We all experience days when we attempt to bring a brilliant idea to life, but often, we give up after its initial failure. We should truly heed the advice of this film and persist no matter what.
The Beauty in Tragedy
Despite witnessing numerous challenging moments in Minari, such as Jacob "neglecting his family" and Grandma's severe stroke, the film still captures many beautiful scenes, all set to a stunning soundtrack. It emphasizes the importance of not facing struggles alone and remaining united as a family. The film conveys that regardless of how tough circumstances become, supporting one another ensures that everything will ultimately be fine as long as you have each other. It truly reflects on the beauty of family.
In Conclusion
Minari is one of the most beautiful films out there as it reflects on the importance of family and shows us that restarting your life is indeed possible once you accept the failures along the way. The cinematography and soundtrack of this film make it one of the most meditative films I've ever seen. Have you seen Minari? If so, what are your thoughts on it?
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