This Sunday is the 2021 Academy Awards, held later than the usual Feb/March time frame due to lingering COVID1-19 reasons but it’s still happening with plenty of great movies and performances to laud. K-film had a banner year in 2020 right before COVID-19 shut the world down. I still remember Parasite winning Best Picture and Best Screenplay, and Bong Joon Ho winning Best Director. That cast didn’t get any individual acting nominations but this year Asian-American movie Minari is up for Best Picture and veteran Korean legend Youn Yuh Jung has a Best Supporting Actress nomination with Steven Yeun up for Best Actor. It’s Youn Yuh Jung who is the frontrunner in her category, almost every single pundit and critic write up and prediction has her winning and she most recently took home the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress win. That a South Korean national treasure like her is getting the long overdue worldwide recognition is so heartwarming and she deserves every bit of this. Cine21 magazine has devoted it’s latest entire issue to her, she’s on the cover and inside every page covers her 45 year spanning career when she debuted in 1967 to today. Brava to a Queen!
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The political correctness of the Oscars is getting out of control. They intentionally let the most diverse candidate win, rather than the best. They are also circle-jerking around Korea too much. Each year, there are plenty of good movies coming out in Asia, but they only nominate Korean movies… When Japan brings out a top-notch movie, they nominate it for Best Foreign Movie. They do not even bother to nominate domestic Chinese movies. At least, Japan and China receive the appropriate credit at Cannes, Venice or Berlin.
“PARASITE” was the first and only Korean film ever to be nominated for an Oscar. It was also the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes so according to your logic credit was given appropriately.
Youn Yuh Jung got her nomination in an American film. “MINARI” is not a Korean film even though those idiots at the Globe put it in the foreign film category.
Yes thank you!! Seriously, Minari is an Asian American film. It’s an American film backed by a Hollywood production company. And finally, Asian/Asian Americans are getting a break through in Western media. This is something we should celebrate, more inclusivity in the industry!!
I am well aware. Let me state up front that Youn Yuh-jung deserves her nomination and hopefully she also wins. Just like Parasite deserved its win. However, nowadays there is general sentiment that everything that is remotely Korean is quality. Korea is getting treated as if it has the monopoly on good taste, whilst China and Japan has become the equivalent of poor quality and overacting. This is in my opinion not true. A director such as Kore-Eda is just as good as Bong Joon-Ho. Guys such as Kurosawa can give Kubrick a run for its money. But you will never see a Japanese movie getting nominated for Best Movie. Nomadland was directed by Chloé Zhao, but she will not be nominated if her movie was Chinese.
@adyjunjihyun
I get what you’re saying and I wholeheartedly agree! Diversity is cool but Asian/Asian American is not just Korea/Korean-American.
concur with ady and #. i daresay the k-centric focus is a combination of political factors + this whole hallyu business currently led by internationally popular idols and this booming streaming wave of k-dramas in pandemic times spearheaded by netflix.
Why some insist to have asian production win an award in the Oscars? I am sure a good Japanese film have won awards in Japan equivalent to an Oscar or a good chinese production have won awards to a chinese equivalent to an Oscar.
Minari is an American film, produced by an American production company, registered in the US and filmed in American. It is just so happened that the story of the film is about the life Korean immigrants in America.
I am pretty sure, no american productions are expecting to win awards in Baeksang or Golden Rooster or in Japan Film Academy.
@MistyEyes
Ikr? And this expectation is not just in film-making but music too. Or better yet, every field. You don’t see Western artists scrambling to win MAMAs or other Asian awards. But Asian artists and their fans have this ambition/expectation to win Western awards. And when they don’t win, said fans slam those award-giving bodies as racist, xenophobic or prejudiced.
The best answer to your question that comes to mind is: “It’s the world stage and they want approval from the West to feel they’re actually good.” Tragic.
I share the same opinions. And I really don’t get the hype over Minari and the acting performances… congrats still to Youn Yuhjung.
i don’t get the hype, either. same for that other k-movie that won the oscar. but hey, congrats to them all the same.
I agree about Minari as a whole. I watched it and liked it, but I’m not sure it was Best Picture worthy. The end was anticlimactic and the characters actions frustrated me. YYJ’s character had a stroke and the family just leaves her home alone unattended, and then everything goes downhill from there. I come from a family of immigrants so I understood and was touched by the struggles of the family trying to survive in a different country but that in itself doesn’t make the story great. It was not anywhere in the league of Parasite, IMO.
Although I will say YYJ was the heart of the film and was worthy of her nomination. I didn’t see the other nominees so can’t say she deserved the win or not.
For me, Han Yeri had the best performance in the cast. Not sure if critics don’t appreciate nuance or she just lacks screen presence compared to Steven Yeun and YYJ. Either way, the Best Actress nomination list was stacked so I wouldn’t say she was snubbed.
And she just won!
Duh I was rooting for Glenn Close.
So was I. That woman has been robbed so many times!
Congrats to YYJ, though.
Gleen close nominated for 8 oscar and never won??OMG!!I like her in 101 dalmations!Why oscar ignore her 8 times!She deserve 3 oscar!!
Exactly!
I stopped caring about Oscars a long time ago, so I’m just excited for Youn Yuh Jung for her moment in limelight.
I watched Youn’s Stay recently and was absolutely charmed by her clueless grandmother vibes. I love her witty and self-depreceating comments delivered with such grace, just like her Oscar speech.
Honestly, I thought they should have skipped the Grammys and the Oscars this year. I don’t know if even a quarter of the amount of music and movies were released this year as normal and it just seems an odd thing heavily skewed to streaming services who were the winners of the pandemic. Regardless, congrats to those that took home Oscar.
She deserves it!!! Congratulations!!! I knew her first when she acted with Kyo ssi in the movie Hwang Jin Yi then followed by Canola, Actresses, Salut D Amour,then Keys to the Heart then I watched My Husband Got a Family drama. I plan to watch The Bachuss Lady. She made a stellar performance in this movie. She really is a veteran actress and will move one fan’s / viewer’s heart when watching her movies or dramas. Salute to Cine21 for doing this wonderful appreciation.