Minari Music By Emile Mosseri

Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari is a tender and sweeping story about what roots us. It follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Composed by Emile Mosseri (The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Kajillionaire), the music of Minari has already been heralded as a breakout contender this awards season, garnering a nomination for “Best Score” at the Critics Choice Awards and most recently shortlisted as a potential nominee at the Academy Awards® in the categories of “Original Score” and “Original Song.”  Mosseri himself has also received resounding acclaim from critics, with features in American Songwriter, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety and more, as well as a highly sought-after seat at The Hollywood Reporter’s annual “Composer’s Roundtable.”  

Of the soundtrack, Emile Mosseri  says, “Working with Lee Isaac Chung on Minari was the purest collaboration.  Isaac made a gorgeous film about his childhood, and it was an exciting challenge to try and musically personify something as visceral and emotionally-loaded as childhood memory.  He invited me into his filmmaking process at the script stage which was a first for me and a dream.   I’m grateful that my music found a home in his profoundly honest, vulnerable and deeply poetic film.”

“In July of 2019, five days before production began on Minari, Emile sent me musical sketches for the score,” adds Minari director Lee Isaac Chung.  “He wrote, ‘I like the idea of the score having a warm beating heart but also some dissonance and struggle, dipping between those two worlds seamlessly.’  As I listened to the pieces, I was in awe of how he had captured this poetic intent perfectly. From the start, his music contained all the things I hoped for in the film: warmth, heart, dissonance, and struggle. I listened to the songs so often during production that the world of the film contains the songs, and the world of the songs contains the film. As you listen to his brilliant score, you will, in his words, be dipping between those two worlds seamlessly.”

The soundtrack was initially introduced with lead single Rain Song, a hauntingly beautiful and moving piece featuring vocals from actress Yeri Han.  Most recently shortlisted for an Academy Award® nominee for “Original Song,” “Rain Song” came together as a collaborative effort between Mosseri and Korean translator and lyricist Stefanie Hong, who worked with Mosseri to adapt his original English lyrics into the Korean language.

Of the track, vocalist and Minari actress Yeri Han says, “When I first heard the music for ‘Rain Song,’ I pictured heaps of soft snow in a quiet winter landscape. The lyrics warmed my heart like a mother’s lullaby, and I began to think of Monica’s childhood. I thank Emile for creating such a wonderful piece and I’m grateful for the opportunity to sing it.”

A24 has released Minari in theaters on 02/12/2021