Director Chung says that the theme of global humanity in “Minari” is similar to that of the American audience

SEOUL, Jan 14 (Xinhua) – Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung has said that the praise he receives for his latest film “Minari” reflects people’s faith in humanity.

In an online chat hosted by Korean-American actress Sandra O on Wednesday (US time) as part of the Korean American Day celebration, the film is not just the story of a Korean immigrant family based on her experience, but also the family of a person struggling in daily life.

“(‘My childhood memories’) may have a lot of ideas about life and about these different things that I struggled with as a father and husband.” , he said. “Using memories as a starting point, I thought it would be interesting to put all of these ideas together.”

“Minari,” Sung’s fourth film tells the story of a family of first-generation Korean immigrants who live on a remote farm in Arkansas, following their own American dream, from the perspective of David (Alan Kim) and his parents Jacob (Steven Yoon) and Monica (Hon. ) View of a 7-year-old boy.

The arrival of their grandmother Soon-ja (Yoon Yu-jung) from Korea undergoes major changes in their efforts to adapt to rural life in a small farming community in the family. ‘Arkansas.

After being honored by the jury and the public at the Sundance Film Festival last February, the film made headlines during the awards season in the United States, leading up to the Oscars in April, with awards from film critic circles and film festivals, including the North Carolina Film Critics Association.

Yoon is one of the best contestants for Best Supporting Actress at the upcoming Oscars in April.

The organizers of the Golden Globes put it in the category of best foreign language film, citing its dialogue, not the best film, as “Minari” has been the center of controversy in the United States. Mainly in Korean.

Many Korean Americans and others of Asian descent in the American entertainment community have complained about the move, saying “Minari” is about an American family performed by an American director and production company. .

However, the director said recent harsh criticisms show that the film’s humanity helps echo not only with Korean Americans or the immigrant minority in the United States, but also with individuals. From all sides.

“I was surprised (the picture is similar to the others),” he said. “This is the humanity we have. It’s what I was expecting when I wrote this text.

Chung tried not to limit the film to his own memories by turning the personal story of a Korean immigrant family into a generational story.

“I really tried from the beginning of the writing to distance myself from the reality of what happened,” he says. “So the picture becomes a picture, no longer a memory.”

Rather than following his parents in coming up with a new story, Chung asked his actors to create their own characters. He modified and refined the script after discussing it with the cast during production.

“The act of making a film is to create something completely new,” he said. “We’re not trying to capture anything, we’re trying to create something.”

“We share a lot of common experiences. Even non-couriers tell me about their grandmothers after watching this movie, ”he said. “It’s so wonderful, so beautiful to me.”