Minari 2020

Movie · 115 min · English, Korean · January 26, 2020

Directed by Lee Isaac ChungWritten by Lee Isaac Chung

Starring Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung

Minari is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. The cast includes Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. This semi-autobiographical story centers on Chung's childhood, depicting a South Korean family relocating to rural Arkansas in the 1980s.

The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, where it earned both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It started a one-week virtual release on December 11, 2020 before opening theatrically and through virtual cinema on February 12, 2021 via A24.

Critics praised the film, particularly Chung’s direction and screenplay, as well as performances by Yeun and Youn, and the musical score. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute both recognized Minari as one of 2020's best films, with it later being cited among the greatest works of the 21st century. At the 93rd Academy Awards, it received six nominations, including Best Picture, and won Best Supporting Actress for Youn, marking the first time a Korean actor won an Oscar. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and earned six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film Not in the English Language.