Review: After an exhausting 2020, the gentle 'Minari' is the movie we need right now. If you decide to help students delve deeper into the topic, you might show the entire film and have more extensive discussions over multiple days. Older Post But "Minari" finds its greatest strengths in its sincerity. Preview the activities students will be doing during the movie. By marketing the movie as a universal story, it loses part of what makes it so special. Jacobs refusal to choose his family over the farm compels Monica to say that she wants separation. The movie's final scene is of Jacob and David at the creek picking minari, the only thriving plant. A FOOW (Fish-Out-Of-Water) dynamic. He adamantly thinks that Soon-ja is not a real grandmother because she doesnt cook or bake cookies. Major kudos to Aditya Raute for doing this weeks scene-by-scene breakdown. How to Watch All Quiet on the Western Front. You know your classroom and community norms best -- use your professional judgement to decide how you'll address these, if necessary. (1:12:32-1:18:35), Clip #13: Monica tells Anne she's so grown up, taking care of everyone. However, water is also used in a positive way in Minari, but only the creek water. It's a specific instrument. David expects his grandmother to be able to bake cookies. And if you're looking to check it out, find out how to watch Minari streaming. They fight. Why do you think David does what he does, and why does Soonja defend him? In Lee Isaac Chung 's lovely new film, it flourishes in an Arkansas creek bed . July 20, 2022 By Berkeley Food Institute. What does Jacob's decision to grow Korean vegetables in Arkansas say about culture and identity? Uh, You Havent Seen Austin Butlers Elvis Yet?! (1:12:32-1:18:35), Clip #13: Monica tells Anne she's so grown up, taking care of everyone. -- that illustrates this time. Can you think of someone from your own life, from history, or from a piece of media that's like Anne -- a bit of an "unsung hero" who helps keep things going? What does Jacob's decision to grow Korean vegetables in Arkansas say about culture and identity? Running time: 115 min. Minari DISCUSSION TOPICS - Dreams, goals, life plans, death of a loved one, loneliness, disappointment, failure, follow-through, guilt, immigration, farming, Ronald Reagan, Korean War, losing faith in someone. Develop interests and a sense of purpose. Jacob and Monica fight as the kids make paper airplanes with the message "Don't fight!" Monica wants a sense of community. But thats too much for one film, one director, and one story to bear. (16:09-19:51), Clip #4: Jacob tells Anne that Koreans immigrate to the U.S. and miss Korean food. I' ve had the feeling of following the film Minari around for a few months now since the first time I saw the trailer last year. Paul feels like a Mentor figure. Its funny how even the Hollywood Foreign Press Association thinks American stories are told only in English. Lee Isaac Chungs breathtaking new film Minari is promoted as a staggeringly powerful story of the American dream. It follows a Korean American father whos trying to reimagine what life for his family could look like. You can use all of the questions and activities or pick and choose, depending on how much time you have. Jacob (Steven Yeun) moves his family from a comfortable life in California to a. -- that illustrates this time. Depending on what's best for your class, have students work in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, "Minari" explores the experience of 1980s America for one Korean American family. Five acres is a hobby, he tells his reluctant and skeptical wife, explaining why he has acquired 50 acres of the best dirt in America. Help students reflect on the social and emotional aspects of the movie and consider how their own emotions work. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (35:37-37:58), Clip #8: The family goes to church, and people there react in various ways to them being Korean. The tension between Jacob's dreams and Monica's pragmatic worries, between Soonja's discreet wisdom and the childrens' rejection of it these elements of plot and story make for a gripping and engaging movie. Start with the foundations of your research project: They will facilitate the . Students will also reflect on howtheir ownsense of identity has developed within their family and community-- including the impacts of culture and ancestry. Official Screenwriting Blog of The Black List. Despite one challenge after another which pushes Jacob and Monica's relationship to the brink of dissolution, they persist. Minari DRAMA A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. Jacob faces many challenges and setbacks as he tries to make the farm work, only to lose the crop in the fire. In the meantime, I am sharing some of the best and most heartwarming quotes from the film. This affects his productivity at the local hatchery, where both he and Monica work. Minari won the 2021 Academy Award for best Actress in Supporting Role. (1:02:06-1:03:57), Clip #11: After David gets hurt, Grandma emphasizes how strong he is. Not all Koreans have experienced immigration, but Minari will be able to resonate with all of us because it reminds us of our own childhood memories and families. Like minari, the family has finally and fully adapted to their new surroundings while maintaining the morsels of individuality that set them apart. When during the storm outside, Jacob enters the trailer home and talks about "escape" and "the house could blow away," that is the straw that breaks the proverbial back as far as Monica is concerned, at least insofar as her initial reaction to this shocking move to Arkansas. They study film and television and are interesting in directing. He knows how complex the idea of the American dream is and that for many, its a fiction. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. (7:56-9:40), Clip #2: A thunderstorm is in full swing, and everyone's scared. The discussion guide and lesson below will help students consider how and why characters in Minari act the way they do. For Jacob, the farm is his direct path to achieve the proverbial American dream, and he is industrious enough to make an earnest attempt at it. Jacob hires a dowser to find water. (42:44-49:43), Clip #9: David dumps out his tea and urinates in the cup. It often evolves from a yearning to escape the daily grind and a feeling of nostalgia. Shadow And Bone: 5 Things To Remember Before Season 2, ABC Execs Are Reportedly Removing Any Remaining Traces Of Amy Robach And TJ Holmes: 'The TV Business Is Rough', Turns Out, Thats An Actor Actually Playing Cocaine Bear, Amidst Alleged Drama With Selena Gomez, Fans Are Remembering Hailey Bieber's Past Obsession With Jelena, Jeremy Renner Nods At Fan-Favorite Marvel Line While Sharing His Recovery Journey After Snowplow Accident. This was early December, and we were supposed to talk about Yeun's latest starring role, in "Minari," a film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung about a Korean immigrant family that takes up. Hand out the graphic organizer and give students a few minutes to complete the Before You Watch question. A marriage teetering on the edge of dissolution. Both individually and collectively, they find friends as well, most prominent of whom is the town eccentric Paul (Will Patton), who is the very embodiment of the profound faith that resonates in that part of the country. How would you describe the behavior of the people at church toward the Yi family? In an interview with Cinemablend, various cast and director Chung spoke about how minari is special because its a plant that thrives even in rough soil. The film willresonate particularly with students whose households have deep connections to countries other than the one in which they reside. Instead, she plays cards and swears. Use this lesson to help students consider how they can: If you only want to show brief parts of the film and discuss them with students, use these helpful clips to get you started. Thinking back on the movie, is there one scene thats particularly memorable? 0. Monica explains that her mom has no other family because her father died in the war. Specifically how our choices are influenced by our character traits, values, and virtues. On the church bus, kids joke about Paul not having water. After the Dallas deal falls through, Jacob realizes that he will face financial ruin if he doesnt find another buyer for his produce before it starts to rot. In some ways, todays exercise is the whole point of the series: What did you take away from the experience of reading and analyzing the script? Why? Here are some useful distinctions: Research objectives: Sometimes called "research questions," research objectives represent the goals of the research. What's Anne's role in the family? Overall, this is very simple plot. She tries to convince Jacob to move the family closer to the Korean community in the nearby town. Anne is a quiet force in the movie, taking care of David and trying to make things easier for her parents. Jacob sees the minari and says, It's growing well on its own." Minari Is a Beautiful Portrait of a Family in Flux Lee Isaac Chung's bittersweet award-winning film is one of the highlights of the season. In her last scene, Soon-ja sits wide awake, watching the Yis sleep on the floor together. So, after the family, except for Soon-ja, travels to Oklahoma City to meet a specialist there for Davids condition, Monica gives her husband an ultimatum to choose between his family and the farm. Why do you think David does what he does, and why does Soonja defend him? At the heart of the movie are questions about the choices we make for our familiesand the priorities behind them. Create something that gives this person a proper shout out. (34:04-35:56), Clip #7: Grandma can't bake, but she shows the kids what she can do by teaching them a card game. Just a few hours before, she'd been making him feel safe. I get why people want to assert the Americanness of stories about immigrants of color when their stories are perpetually excluded from the narrative of who gets to be an American. When the Yis return, Jacob rushes into the fire to salvage whatever he can, and Monica soon follows. (10:49-13:53), Clip #3: A dowser comes to show Jacob he can find water on the property, but Jacob says, "Americans, believing that nonsense! David aspires to be one of the gang and hanging with Johnnie provides that opportunity, however, Johnnie has a wild streak and that stands in opposition to the steadfastness required of the family to survive on the farm. Its implied that the Yi family will come back stronger as farmers and as a family. Importantly, theyll return to this after the movie and reflect on it. Step 5: Test your discussion guide with a colleague. Minari Plot Synopsis Having spent a considerable portion of their early youths in California as chicken sexers, Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica Yi (Han Ye-ri) move their family of four to Arkansas' green pastures. If . Chung wanted to make a particular story, not a universal story. Sometimes that Dream can be so intoxicating that it can get in the way of family and the failure can be devastating. (1:05:33-1:10:00), Clip #12: Soonja has a stroke. His real memories echoed the tornado warning and his grandmother burning the barn, but he wanted to start Minari with a flood and end it with fire. So it almost becomes inconsequential that David seems to be naturally recovering from his condition because of his life in Arkansas. We're about to get into spoilers from the movie, so if you haven't watched it yet, read no further! The creek water provides the family with water when Jacob has used it all up for his crops. Jacob, Monica, David (Alan S. Kim), and Anne (Noel Cho) receive good news when a cardiologist lets the family know that Davids heart murmur will likely heal on its own. This guide offers two different approaches to teaching Minari: Feel free to use either approach, or even combine the two into one lesson (or an entire unit) based around the movie. Having spent a considerable portion of their early youths in California as chicken sexers, Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica Yi (Han Ye-ri) move their family of four to Arkansas green pastures. If you had to take a side, whose side would you take? How would you describe the behavior of the people at church toward the Yi family? The discussion guide and lesson below will help students consider how and why characters in Minari act the way they do. When it comes to representation, its hard not to feel the lack of differences and experiences onscreen. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. What scene, and why does it stick out in your mind? All rights reserved. Films like Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, The Half of It, and Always Be My Maybe are great and they are a start, sure, but it still feels like a momentous event when one of these films comes out. Minari is a semi-autobiographical drama film about a Korean-American family growing up in rural Arkansas during the nineteen-eighties. Exhibit self-discipline and self-motivation. Around 1:19:00, some kids use chewing tobacco. When asked about it, Chung mentioned the biblical idea of two destructions, first with the flood and then with fire. Around 1:19:00, some kids use chewing tobacco. Though it wasn't hugely popular among teens, it's possible that some of your students have seen it, so it's helpful to make a strict "If you know it, don't blow it" rule to prevent spoilers. Soon-ja also serves as a link between Monica and Korea by bringing traditional medicines (for David) and native spices. If you haven't seen Minari yet, queue this one for your next movie night. He has never heard anyone say that about him and he welcomes the praise. (42:44-49:43), Clip #9: David dumps out his tea and urinates in the cup. Minari won the 2021 Academy Award for best Actress in Supporting Role.Young David and his family move from California to Arkansas to settle in a mobile home on vacant land, which the father hopes to farm. Yeri Han summed up in a Korea Times interview how the film resonates with audiences of many different backgrounds. Anne's strategy when her parents are fighting is to send messages with paper airplanes, which is a creative way to find some control over a situation where she's powerless. And yet, eventually, he manages to discard that obsession at the right time. The discussion guide and lesson below will help students consider how and why characters in Minari act the way they do. But just as Crazy Rich Asians did in 2018, Minari carries the weight of representation, of helping us as Asian Americans validate ourselves through the hope that we will see our stories onscreen and the hope that people will see us. Soon after moving to Arkansas with their son, David (Alan S. Kim), and daughter, Anne (Noel Cho), and taking on the monumental project of starting a farm, it becomes clear that the family needs extra help, so Monicas mother, Soon-ja (played by the wonderful Yuh-Jung Youn), moves in to help Monica take care of the kids while Jacob pursues his dream. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. Soon-ja, who has recently suffered a stroke, accidentally sets fire to the barn where Jacob keeps his produce. (10:49-13:53), Clip #3: A dowser comes to show Jacob he can find water on the property, but Jacob says, "Americans, believing that nonsense! CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning, Thinking Routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero, selected scenes and discussion questions listed earlier in this article. A discussion guide is more than a list of questions. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). That. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. Minari 2020 PG-13 1 h 55 m IMDb RATING 7.4 /10 84K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 2,634 158 Play trailer 2:06 19 Videos 99+ Photos Drama A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas. To her surprise and horror, he picks the latter. Can you think of someone from your own life, from history, or from a piece of media that's like Anne -- a bit of an "unsung hero" who helps keep things going? Judgement to decide how you 'll address these, if necessary you can use all the. A Korea Times interview how the film resonates with audiences of many different backgrounds often. 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