- American-made "Minari" was nominated for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes.
- 70% of the movie is spoken in Korean, making it ineligible for best picture awards.
- But people are confused and angry because the movie deals with American themes.
"Minari" was nominated for best foreign language film at this year's Golden Globes despite being an American-made movie, and people are confused as to why the movie was ineligible for best motion picture drama.
"Minari" is written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, a Korean American filmmaker, and was produced by American production companies A24 and Brad Pitt's Plan B. The critically-acclaimed movie follows a family, led by Steven Yeun's Jacob, moving to Arkansas in the 1980s and trying to set up a farm and become successful - it is essentially about the American dream itself.
However, the film falls foul of a much-maligned Golden Globes rule. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Globes, states that: "motion pictures that qualify for the Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language award also qualify for awards in all other motion picture categories except Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, which are exclusively for English-language motion pictures, and Best Motion Picture - Animated."
Therefore, because 70% of "Minari" was spoken in Korean, the movie was ineligible for best motion picture drama, and came away from the Golden Globe nominations with only one nod, for best foreign language film. However, the situation is made all the more farcical because the Globes lists which country the movie comes from in their nominations list. USA appears underneath "Minari."
Fans of the movie are in a confused frenzy.
"Minari" is not the first movie to feel this sting. "Parasite" and "Roma," which both ended up winning several Oscars each, were disqualified for the same reason. However, what makes the "Minari" ruling even more confusing is the fact that "Inglourious Basterds," 70% of which is spoken in languages other than English, was nominated for best motion picture drama.
This ruling provoked strong reactions from filmmakers when the Golden Globes first announced the decision. Lulu Wang, whose film "The Farewell" suffered the same fate, tweeted: "I have not seen a more American film than 'Minari' this year. It's a story about an immigrant family, in America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterizes American as only English-speaking."
Several other filmmakers joined also voiced the same opinion. However, with these Golden Globe nominations come a fresh wave of criticism for the HFPA. In particular, people feel that both Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung were snubbed in best drama actor and best supporting actress, respectively.
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