Minari Ending Explained – What Happened To The Grandma?

The Minari ending is both poetic and ambiguous, especially concerning what happened to the grandma, Soonja. The 2017 independent drama film made by A24 stars Steven Yeun as Jacob, a hopeful farmer who is unquestionably in over his head after he moves his family from California to Arkansas to expand his agricultural business. Throughout the film, Jacob’s wife Monica (Yeri Han) becomes increasingly skeptical of Jacob’s ability to provide for her and their two children, David (Alan Kim) and Anne (Noel Cho).

Grandma Soonja, played by Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung, moves in with her daughter Monica and her family in their remote American home. Soonja traveled from Korea to reunite with her daughter and to become a part of her grandchildren’s lives. David is particularly reluctant to embrace Soonja at their home, going so far as to trick her into drinking his urine as a sign of protest. Eventually, Soonja becomes a companion and mentor to the stubborn David, whose relationship with his grandmother symbolizes the strained generational and cultural dynamics that are broader themes of Minari as a whole.

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What Happens In Minari’s Ending

The Minari ending starts to unravel after Soonja’s health takes a turn for the worse. David and Soonja had developed a close relationship in which Soonja was a very active and vocal part of David’s daily life until an abrupt stroke presented her with several physical challenges that limited her greatly. As Monica’s family life faces new difficult challenges, Jacob’s priorities become clearer in his determination to produce a successful crop farm. David’s heart murmur is revealed to have significantly decreased in severity and Jacob lands his first business deal in Arkansas.

Even after the great news for their family, Monica realizes her faith in Jacob has run dry. On their way home from Jacob’s business deal, Monica starts to smell smoke in the car. Jacob rushes home to see the horror of his produce shed engulfed in flames. Without thinking, Jacob rushes into the shed and pulls out every vegetable crate he can, with Monica right behind him. Soonja had tried to burn trash when she was alone when the flames spread uncontrollably and carried them into the shed.

Soonja walks away in despair but is brought back home by David and Anne. The family sleeps together on the floor of the living room while Soonja watches over them. Eventually, Jacob finds a new spot on his land to dig for water and he and David harvest some of the minari that Soonja planted.

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What Happened To Soonja?

The fate of Soonja is intentionally ambiguous, indicating she could still be alive even though she is not seen in the final scene. Typically, Soonja goes with David to check out the minari they planted. However, Jacob goes with his son for the first time in the film during the Minari ending scene. One scene moments earlier features Jacob, Monica, Anne, and David all sleeping together on the floor of their home with Soonja watching them fondly. This moment could imply she has always and will continue to watch over them from an omnipresent spiritual standpoint if she did die, but the ending is open to interpretation.

Soonja & The Burning Shed Explained

Soonja should have known better than to deal with burning the trash while she was the only person at home. Her good intentions ended up destroying much of Jacob’s inventory. Previously in the film, David criticized Soonja for not acting like a real grandma, which is likely why Soonja was eager to make herself useful to Monica and her family despite facing physical challenges after her stroke.

Ironically, Soonja’s fiery accident brought her family closer together by allowing Jacob to demonstrate to Monica he could still put his family first, even when his financial and professional aspirations fail to meet his standards. The burning shed acts as a rebirth for Jacob, Monica, and their family.

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Why Jacob & Monica Ran Into The Burning Shed

Jacob runs into the burning shed to save the thing he loves most, which is his crops. Monica runs in after him to protect what she loves most, which is her family. In the heated moments inside the shed, Monica helps Jacob salvage some of the burning crops and, in turn, Jacob pulls Monica out of the burning shed. By the time they both escape the shed, Jacob and Monica forge a new commitment to helping protect each other’s top interests. After the shed burns down, Jacob becomes more present and devoted to his family, while Monica becomes more supportive of Jacob’s agricultural passions.

Did Jacob & Monica Get A Divorce?

Before Jacob’s shed burned down, Monica announced to Jacob she could no longer continue her life with him. At that point, all signs pointed to the two partners getting a divorce that would break their family apart. It appears that after the burning shed incident, Jacob and Monica stick together despite their serious differences and Monica’s weighted doubts. Though it is not explicitly stated in the Minari ending, the fact that Jacob takes David to the minari plant demonstrates Monica did not take the kids back to California. It’s also symbolic of Soonja’s role in keeping their family together in a strange and unforeseeable way.

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The Real Meaning of Minari’s Ending

The symbolism of Minari comes from the true nature of the plant that Soonja introduces to the environment where Monica and Jacob live. Minari is a particular type of plant that grows very strongly only after it dies and comes back in its second season. When minari is initially planted, there are no expectations for it to flourish as the plant must undergo its organic process so that in time it will prosper and become bountiful.

The natural rhythm of the minari plant cycle is symbolic of the early struggle Jacob and his family faced in their first attempts at building a farm in Arkansas. After an unsuccessful first run which destroyed their crop, Jacob’s business recovers as well as Monica’s strength and faith in her family. In this way, Soonja was looking out for her family all along, as the minari plant she introduced to their new environment became the symbol of resilience and faith in the poetic Minari ending.

Minari

2020’s Minari is a Drama film that showcases a young boy’s upbringing by Korean immigrants in the United States in the 80s. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the film is a partial autobiography about his own experiences and stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Noel Kate Cho, and Alan Kim as a family trying to make it in rural Arkansas.

Release Date

December 11, 2020

Director

Lee Isaac Chung

Cast

Will Patton , Steven Yeun , Noel Kate Cho , Scott Haze , Alan Kim , Yeri Han , Yuh-Jung Youn

Rating

PG-13

Runtime

115 minutes

Writers

Lee Isaac Chung

Studio(s)

A24