Minari

Though the pacing is leisurely, the delightful natural performances and closely observed details are a constant source of delight. Chung doesn't manipulate his audience, but the depth of feeling on display here will touch many a viewer.

The quiet fathoms of Minari give us a patient and tender view into what it means to be sustained by a dream you can never fully occupy.

Sensitively written and acted, beautifully shot, and with a charming, sparingly used score, Minari is so engaging that it's easy to forget how radical it is.

That's the nuanced naturalism that makes Minari so captivating, so intimate: It doesn't tell a complicated story, instead letting the roots and branches of its family drama grow and become entwined with the audience's own stories.

Both gently funny and moving, the movie is the story of bitterness coming along with growth and nourishment.

Minari works because it knows that behind every sweet childhood memory lies bitter struggle. The story is utterly charming when told from David's point of view, and unflinching when it pivots to the complicated dynamics of his parents' marriage.

As this delicate and gentle film explodes into action, it becomes clear how much is at stake. A timeless family tale of entangled emotional and financial struggles, Minari is majestic.

A tender, fictionalized memoir anchored by two stellar performances...

Minari makes its case - for hope, for endurance, for a much more genuine version of the American dream - quietly and plainly.

This precise and vivid film is told with such honest and tender emotion that it was always bound to feel equally unique and universal.