Republished from the show notes of my other site, Fuds on Film.
The Korean American Yi family become surely the first and only people to move from California to Arakansas. I suppose it was acceptable in the eighties. Steven Yeun’s Jacob Yi seeks a new life as a farmer of Korean vegetables, to cater for the increasing number of Korean immigrants, although until that’s up and running he and his wife, Han Ye-ri’s Monica won’t give up their day jobs as chicken sexing, which it says here is definitely a real job and won’t put you on some kind of register.
Monica’s less enthusiastic about the whole upping sticks and moving to the sticks deal, and even less so about their trailer home, and the distance from the nearest hospital when their youngest, Alan Kim’s David Yi has a heart condition. Arguably hardest done by, but least analysed is elder sister Noel Kate Cho’s Anne Yi, who’s saddled with a lot of babysitting despite being a baby herself.
Setting up a farm is, naturally, a great deal of hard work and is not without its challenges, and it’s these challenges, or rather the deleterious effects these have on the family dynamics, particularly Monica and Steve’s relationship that is the central concern of the piece. Further spice is added when Monica’s mother, Youn Yuh-jung’ s Soon-ja arrives from Korea, sharing a room with David much to his displeasure, and there’s also some local colour in the form of eccentric Korean war vet and now part time farmhand, Will Patton’s Paul.
Not knowing anything much about this going in I suppose I was expecting racism to be a larger part of the story, so it’s refreshing to see that by and large it very much isn’t. Shame this week’s real life events don’t have quite the same positivity. Instead it’s a tale of immigrant experience, hard work and human relationships, inspired by director Lee Isaac Chung’s own experiences.
Much like The Mauritanian, I don’t have all that much negative to say about it, but at the same time can’t get all that excited about it. I’m beginning to this this is more of a me problem than an it problem. Particularly given that my only niggle with this film is that Jacob and Monica’s repeated motif of their relationship saving each other is hit rather too squarely on the nose by events at the film’s conclusion.
I suppose given the origins of it, comparisons with Parasite are invited, although a closer match on at least some levels is Shoplifters, and if those are the comparison guns you’re pulling out of the armoury then I suppose it must be advancing the war effort on some front. Not quite sure where that train of thought is trundling towards, but suffice to say it’s all very efficiently told, and well acted on all the cast’s parts. Especially the young ‘uns. So, no huge complaints with it, and I certainly recommend it. Yes. That’s a borderline coherent thought, that’ll do to wrap up.