Mason Galemore
Contributing Writer
mgalemore@murraystate.edu
On Thursday, Aug. 26, Cinema International held its first screening with “Minari.”
The Korean-American film starring Steven Yeun explores the challenges and feats of immigrants through the perspective of the Yi Family. In the film, the family moves to Arkansas in 1983 to farm a Korean vegetable known as minari.
A.O. Scott, film reviewer for The New York Times, said the film is modest and simple.
“There is nothing small about it, though, because it operates at the true scale of life,” Scott said.
Cinema International chose the film because of the praise it received from critics, most notably at the Sundance Film Festival. The film also was chosen because of the common ground it shares with agrarian communities like Murray.
Cinema International not only introduces audiences to different cultures, but the event also shows films that convey deep-seated sociopolitical issues. “Minari” portrays what it means to be an immigrant while breaking down cultural barriers and stereotypes.
Associate Professor of French Thérèse Saint Paul leads Cinema International. She and a group of faculty analyze films and choose them based on critic’s reviews.
Saint Paul said the films shown by Cinema International are not mainstream films and are largely not shown in theaters. She also said the films carry social impact while delivering an artistic cinematic experience.
“When choosing a movie, we discuss its artistic form and its content,” Saint Paul said. “We then see how both parts work together to achieve a certain effect. We want the movie to be able to start a conversation.”
Cinema International will take a break over Labor Day Weekend and will resume on Thursday, Sept. 9 with “Ema,” a 2019 Chilean drama directed by Pablo Larraín. The film stars several well-known Latino actors and actresses including Chilean actress Mariana Di Girolamo and Mexican actor Gael García Bernal.
The movie follows Chilean dancer Ema and her complicated relationship with her husband, Gastón, and their adopted son, Polo.
Saint Paul said “Ema” breaks down a lot of conventions, including bourgeois conventions and the notion of traditional family structures.
“It deals with self discovery and troubleshoots a lot of issues that I think a lot of people are confronted by whether they live in Chile or here in the U.S.” Saint Paul said.
Saint Paul said Cinema International will show any movies that are taboo or have provocative topics. This is because taboo topics are more likely to have sustained conversations and are more likely to incite social change.
However, Cinema International strays away from movies that are off-putting. Saint Paul said the films they show need a good mixture of provocateur and context.
“We spare nothing,” Saint Paul said. “It’s about putting things in the open to promote tolerance and to promote change in a positive way. We also have topics that deal with the LGBTQ community. For instance, one of the upcoming movies we are showing, follows the struggles of the LGBTQ community in the Andes Mountains in Peru. So everything is connected and I like to show that.”
Cinema International is open to the public and admissions are free. Viewings are being held on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Barkley Lecture Room and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Curris Center Theater.
For more information, visit the Cinema International section of the Murray State website to view the complete season flyer here.