Steven Yeun has slowly but surely grown from being an unknown face to almost being a household name and has most certainly carved a niche for himself in the cinesphere.
The dramatic rise of the young South Korean American is perhaps one of the most exciting things for me as well as film addicts who have followed his career over the years, which comes full circle with ‘Minari’ – seemingly like a love letter to generations past and their struggles to immigrate and assimilate in the western world.
Authentic, moving and charming, ‘Minari’ paints a vivid and beautifully textured portrait with firm and confident strokes of resilience and tenderness interspersed with specks of Korean melodrama. Lee Isaac Chung proves that you can make a solid film without pandering to a particular audience.
In a time where the world is becoming a lot less welcoming ‘Minari’ reminds us that the struggle never ceases to exist even though people may move in search of a better, safer and more secure life –
there’s a transition involved, which almost certainly takes its toll no matter what the reward.
P.S. There’s a brilliant Longform article on the New York Times website titled “The Many Lives of Steven Yeun” by Jay Caspian Kang. Do give that a read after watching the film.