Minari is a quiet and confident film that wasn’t what I assumed it was going to be about. With a premise like a Korean immigrant family moving to rural Arkansas, I just assumed Hollywood was going to turn out a film about race and tolerance. Which could have been a fine film with a good message. But, no, this movie didn’t want to be that at all and I was impressed.

So, yes, Korean family moves to rural Arkansas to make it big as farmers. The movie is about striving to make a life for your family, the tension that causes when everyone in the family isn’t on the same page, dealing with failure, dealing with family, and a little bit about dealing with the local small town life.

The movie never goes for the cheap and easy in any of this and, except for the ending, never went for the easy dramatics. This is a slow, kind of sad movie about striving for the American Dream. It’s about a husband and wife who don’t see eye-to-eye, a father who wants his children to respect him, and two Korean-American children who just want their parents love. And it’s about an unconventional grandmother and her war with the family’s young son.

The little boy and grandmother story is oddly just as effective as the one between the husband and wife. It kind of reminded me of a far more conventional American film – The War with Grandpa – and how this movie plays with the same ideas but is so very different in almost every respect. But, yeah, the little boy doesn’t like the granny taking his room and they fight and squabble about it. It’s cute and fun and sad and moving.

Which kind of described the whole movie. I don’t think this flick is for everyone but if you want an honest movie about working hard and trying to right by your family, it’s certainly worth a watch.

Score: 86