In the All Saints Church, a small projector cranked out a powerful film. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari” stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, and highly regarded Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung. It’s a semi-autobiographical story about a Korean American family in the Midwest, struggling to establish their farm. The film is packed with themes of resilience, identity, and belief; it explores the idea of the American dream, its falsehood, and its fragility.
Belmont Against Racism, the Belmont Pan-Asian Coalition, and the Belmont Public Library co-hosted the screening, which drew about 20 people, including Belmont resident James Chung, a relative of director Lee Isaac Chung.
“I sat there thinking, ‘How did A24 and Brad Pitt bet on this sad movie about this broken family?’” James Chung said.
A24 and Pitt’s production company, Plan B, produced and distributed “Minari.”
”Minari,” he explained, was originally a gift to Lee Isaac Chung’s daughter — a script so “she could see a bit about his life growing up in Arkansas.” It wasn’t expected that the film would sweep the Sundance awards or attain such recognition, but instead it had “caught lightning in a bottle.”
During a question-and-answer session at the end, one viewer in his 90s expressed a connection with the film because it reminded him of his mother’s life in rural America and said that “it was a powerful story.”
“Minari is more than a story about a Korean American family. It’s a story about resilience, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to plant roots in unfamiliar soil,” Didier Moïse, president of Belmont Against Racism, wrote in an email.
As a film, “Minari” is both humorous and heavy. It’s also visually quiet. The carefully crafted scenes leave intentional space, weaving through agricultural struggle and familial dynamics. There are the obvious elements of Korean American life, but there are also the more subtle details interlaced, like the family encyclopedia, which is prevalent among many Asian American families, as James Chung observed.
“The movie is a classic example of extreme struggle that became part of the American dream,” James Chung said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add the co-hosts of the event.
