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| Clockwise from top-left, actresses Youn Yuh-jung, Han Ye-ri, director Lee Isaac Chung and actor Steven Yeun discuss their film, "Minari," in an online press conference, Friday. Courtesy of Pancinema |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Steven Yeun, who plays a young father in the moving family drama, "Minari," recalled that when he first got the script from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung, it felt like reading a script from Korea.
"When you get scripts about people of color or minorities (in the U.S.), it's usually explanatory because the viewer is assumed to be a white audience. So, there's always a level of seeing yourself through the gaze and lens of the white majority," Yeun told Korean reporters during an online press conference, Friday.
He decided to come on board not just as an actor but also as a producer, because he wanted to add his voice to something that he deeply related to and had always wanted to talk about.
"The thing that was really refreshing about Isaac's script was just how confident in its own point of view it was. I wanted to make sure our voice was protected and that Isaac's script and intentions weren't compromised," Yeun said.
A semi-autobiographical story of Chung, "Minari" tells the story of a Korean immigrant family that moves to rural Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s. The film has enjoyed great success with awards so far, winning numerous awards and nominations with the SAG Awards, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
The director explained that "Minari" is not just an immigrant story with a Korean character, but also reveals what it was like in America at that time. He strived to find a common ground between a Korean immigrant story and an American farming story.
"I tried to tell a very personal story with this, and I'm humbled by the reaction and response. As I reflect on why this film is connecting with a wide number of audiences, I feel like it's not because it's about me, or immigrants, or about this particular situation, socially. It has to do with human beings and relationships," Chung stated.
"We all wrestle with the things that the Yi family is wrestling with. People can relate to the idea of, 'how can we love each other in difficult situations?' I just feel honored that people are finding their way into this story."
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| Director Lee Isaac Chung, second row left, and the cast of "Minari" / Courtesy of Pancinema |
The cast revealed that they actually spent time together like a family, and gathered in the Airbnb where Youn Yuh-jung and Han Ye-ri were staying, to polish the Korean dialogues, to make them sound more natural and colloquial.
"I was actually staying at a separate hotel, but I'd come crash every evening and steal food, eat all their food, and do my laundry. It was a really immersive experience," Yeun recalled.
"It was such a selfless feeling that was involved in the production. It felt like everyone was there to service this wonderful script that Isaac wrote. The chemistry felt so natural that it attracted the right people. I was really blessed to work with Ye-ri, Yuh-jung, Alan, Noel and Will Patton."
Yeun also saw his family's own American Dream in the film. However, rather than modeling his character, Jacob, after his father, or contorting himself to fit the mold of a man of that era, he tried to portray the individual nature of Jacob, pioneering and making something new.
"I do share a similar immigration story. I actually immigrated with my parents when I was 4. Perhaps this is true for any generational gap, but for me, I sometimes look at my father as a person, but I also see him by his role conceptually because of the language and cultural barriers. So I had to contend with that idea to first break down my own understanding of who my father and his generation were, and then really get to understand who he was as a person," he said.
Yeun is now experiencing the Oscar buzz. If nominated for best actor, he would be the first Asian-American actor recognized for that category in Academy history. Meanwhile, Youn has bagged 26 awards for best supporting actress as of Feb. 26.
On winning multiple awards for her role as Soon-ja, Youn said, "It doesn't even feel real, because I only have one award in my hands right now. The rest are on their way. Isaac left a lot of space for me to come in with my own ideas for understanding who Soon-ja is."
In the film, grandmother Soon-ja is the source of nostalgia, but also the source of both conflict and consolation.
When asked what "grandmother" means, director Chung recalled his time in Songdo, Incheon working as a professor.
"In my office space, I could look out and see mudflats, where people were gathering shellfish. I later found out that my grandmother had done that. She was a widow after losing her husband in the Korean War. In order for my mother to survive, my grandmother went out into those mudflats. I think a lot of that image of her, and of the fact that I was able to end up in that office because she had started there," he said.
"Minari" will hit local theaters on March 3.
