We have the first trailer forMinari. This may not be on everyone’s radar just yet but it proved to be the breakout hit of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, taking home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. A24 scooped up the rights and will be releasing it, one would suspect in the hopes of making an awards season run. Described as “a tender and sweeping story about what roots us,” it sees formerThe Walking Deadstar Steven Yeun moving to Arkansas with his Korean family.
The trailer opens with a family arriving at theirnew home in rural Arkansas. They all have different reactions to this new life, as it is vastly different from what the Korean family left behind. There is a mix of excitement and trepidation. The family then begins to immerse themselves in rural, American life. Going to church. Farming. Mingling. Tensions rise as farming their new land proves to be more difficult than expected but the strength of their bond works like a powerful glue to help get them through. It looks to be a unique way to look at the American dream from a perspective many of us have never experienced.
The movie was written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. It is based on his own experiences growing up in the Midwest during childhood. The cast also includes Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho and Yuh-Jung Youn. As forSteven Yeun, this is one of his bigger on-screen roles since departingThe Walking Dead. Though he has done quite a bit of voice work onVoltron: Legendary DefenderandTrollhunters. Yeun also starred in 2018’sBurning, which many felt was robbed of a few Oscar nominations, including Best Foreign Language Film, with others feeling that Yeun’s performance warranted recognition. Perhaps he will get another crack at Oscar glory with this one.
Minaricenters on a Korean-American family that moves to a small farm in Arkansas with the hopes of finding their own American dream. The family home changes dramatically when heir sly, foul-mouthed, yet incredibly loving grandmother arrives. Through the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, the movie displays the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
A new poster has also been released, which we’ve included for you to check out. As of this writing, the movie holds an unblemished 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is expected to arrive late this year or early next year so that it can get a qualifying release and make a run at the Academy Awards. The Academy altered its rules a bit this year given the state of the movie business, which will allow for movies that debuted on streaming to qualify. Movies will also be allowed to qualify until the end of February 2021. For now,Minaridoes not yet have a firm release date set byA24. Be sure to check out the new trailer for yourself.
