'Minari' earns one Golden Globe nomination

A scene from the film “Minari” / Courtesy of Pan Cinema

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Director Lee Isaac Chung's moving immigrant drama “Minari” was nominated in one category for the upcoming 2021 Golden Globe Awards, organizers said Wednesday.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organizer of the Golden Globes, released the list of nominees for its 2021 awards, and announced “Minari” had been nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film.”

The Globes honor achievements in film and television and the ceremony is often considered an unofficial kickoff to the awards season, with the Oscars following.

Controversially, “Minari” was not allowed to compete for the top prize, but instead for the best foreign language film, because the characters in the film predominantly speak Korean.

The film is nominated alongside director Thomas Vinterberg's “Another Round,” Jayro Bustamante's “La Llorona,” Edoardo Ponti's “The Life Ahead,” and Filippo Menghetti's “Two of Us.”

Despite much anticipation, actress Youn Yuh-jung did not get a nod for best supporting actress.

“Minari,” Chung's fourth feature film, follows a Korean family relocating and adjusting to life on a remote farm in Arkansas in the 1980s. The film, since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival January last year, has been acclaimed by critics in the country and overseas with its resonating story about the “American dream.”

“Minari” has bagged 60 trophies from film critics associations and festivals, including the Sunset Film Circle Award and New Mexico Film Critics Award, and it was recently named one of 10 films of the year by the American Film Institute.

The Golden Globes awards ceremony will be held Feb. 28. The film will hit local theaters in March.