WEBVTT - LEE ISAAC CHUNG

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<v Speaker 1>Hi everyone, Hello, my friend, Hello, Hello, Hello, Welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>springtime almost springtime. It's great to be back with another

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<v Speaker 1>episode of Love Someone. I have an incredible guest today,

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<v Speaker 1>and I know you're going to be super touched impressed

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<v Speaker 1>with him. It's screen writer director Lee Isaac Chung. The

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<v Speaker 1>media world has been buzzing about this gentleman. He wrote

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<v Speaker 1>and directed the semi autobiographical film Manari that was based

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<v Speaker 1>on his life his upbringing in rural Arkansas in the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighties after his family immigrated from South Korea. I

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<v Speaker 1>watched the special screening of the movie with my older

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<v Speaker 1>girls even before it was released in February, because that's

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<v Speaker 1>one of the great perks of doing what I do

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<v Speaker 1>on the radio, and we were all touched by it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was one of those films that leave you thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about the movie, thinking about the characters, thinking about the scenery,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about the connections within the family for days. I

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<v Speaker 1>am excited to be able to spend time with Isaac

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<v Speaker 1>talking about his work. This is a special privilege and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm looking forward to sharing his story with you. We're

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<v Speaker 1>going to do that just as soon as I tell

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<v Speaker 1>you a little story about the sponsor that makes this

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<v Speaker 1>They have been a part of my radio program and

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<v Speaker 1>the Home Depot. How doers get more done? Hello, Lee,

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<v Speaker 1>Isaac Chung, Welcome to Love Someone with Delilah. I'm so

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<v Speaker 1>excited to get to talk to you because I got

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<v Speaker 1>to actually see your film a couple of months ago.

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<v Speaker 1>They sent me a screener to watch it, and I

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<v Speaker 1>watched it with my teenage girls and we didn't stop

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<v Speaker 1>talking about it for days. So that's that's a good

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<v Speaker 1>sign when you got teenage girls twelve, sixteen, and sixteen

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<v Speaker 1>asking questions and engaging in meaningful conversation. And there was

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<v Speaker 1>no point in the movie that I felt like I

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<v Speaker 1>had to say close your eyes, close your eyes, plug

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<v Speaker 1>your ears. That pleases me to no end. When people

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<v Speaker 1>are watching this together with family, especially young people, that

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<v Speaker 1>that's just wonderful to hear from me. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>sweet movie, and there's all these funny connections. My kids

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<v Speaker 1>and I moved down to my husband's cattle ranch quinn

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<v Speaker 1>covid Hit. We were living in a community, not a

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<v Speaker 1>big community, but a community before we left, and then

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<v Speaker 1>we moved out in the boondocks on a acre cattle ranch.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think they all sort of had the same

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<v Speaker 1>response to that move as the children the characters in

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<v Speaker 1>your movie Minori had when the dad drove them out

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<v Speaker 1>to their new home, their glorious new home in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of nowhere in Arkansas. Yeah, it's the shock of

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<v Speaker 1>the senses to be kind of placed in the whole

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<v Speaker 1>other world. I feel for us. My dad didn't really

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<v Speaker 1>tell us that you were going to do that, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's that was an added shock for all of us.

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<v Speaker 1>I know it's sort of autobiographical. Did he really load

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<v Speaker 1>you guys up in a station wagon in California and

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<v Speaker 1>just add east to Arkansas? Well I kind of dramatized

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<v Speaker 1>that a bit to heighten it, because we were just

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<v Speaker 1>coming from around the little Rock area of Arkansaw and

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<v Speaker 1>we loaded up in a moving truck and my dad

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<v Speaker 1>said he had found this place. And we showed up

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<v Speaker 1>and um, it was basically outside of the city limits

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<v Speaker 1>of the town of about people and all we could

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<v Speaker 1>see our tall grass and we couldn't see our neighbors,

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<v Speaker 1>and um, yeah, and he said, this is home. So

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<v Speaker 1>that part was true. And was the character that played

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<v Speaker 1>the mother in the movie, was that truly Your mother's

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<v Speaker 1>reaction was she like, no, ay, and hell, are you

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<v Speaker 1>dragging us out here? We're going back to the city.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. I heard a lot of conversations that my

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<v Speaker 1>mom had that were along those minds, but as a kid,

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<v Speaker 1>I it never really dawned on me till later how

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<v Speaker 1>difficult that must have been for her, Like I really

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<v Speaker 1>had to get married myself and understand the relationships and how,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, decisions should be made and all these different things. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>and just looking back I kind of have a better

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<v Speaker 1>understanding of why she she was feeling that that way.

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<v Speaker 1>When I was a kid, I loved showing up there

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<v Speaker 1>on that farm and seeing a house on wheels. That

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<v Speaker 1>thought that was the coolest thing. My family, my mother's

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<v Speaker 1>side of the family, are all from Missouri and Arkansas,

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<v Speaker 1>no kidding, They were farmers there. My grandparents migrated from

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<v Speaker 1>being farmers in Arkansas to working in the forest in Oregon.

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<v Speaker 1>So after World War Two, my grandpa packed up my

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<v Speaker 1>grandma and my mom and my grandma's sister and her Emily,

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<v Speaker 1>and moved them to the Oregon coast to work in

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<v Speaker 1>the timber industry. But they had been farmers not that

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<v Speaker 1>far from where your movie was set, so it kind

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<v Speaker 1>of felt like a family connection there. Oh, that's that's

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<v Speaker 1>so neat to hear. I think that farming was starting

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<v Speaker 1>to get kind of difficult around the time that we

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<v Speaker 1>moved over there. I wonder if that's what drove your

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<v Speaker 1>family to head out west. My grandpa was in the

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<v Speaker 1>military and he was stationed on the West coast, and

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<v Speaker 1>he fell in love with the Douglas furs and the Sequoias,

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<v Speaker 1>and so when the war was over, he went and

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<v Speaker 1>packed up his family and kind of like the characters

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<v Speaker 1>in your movie, He's just like, Okay, we're going west.

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<v Speaker 1>And Grandma had no clue where they were going, how

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<v Speaker 1>they were going to support themselves. Um, but they headed

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<v Speaker 1>west and they made it work. Yeah, I mean, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a that's amazing. I kind of feel like this film

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<v Speaker 1>has immigrants from Asia in it, but I genuinely feel

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<v Speaker 1>like this is really story about Americans. This this is

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<v Speaker 1>something that happens to the families all over, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that sort of feeling of departure, moving and ultimately families

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<v Speaker 1>trying to stay together. One of my best friends, Kim,

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<v Speaker 1>is from Korea, and she was so excited when we

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<v Speaker 1>started talking about the movie because she is intimately familiar

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<v Speaker 1>with most of the actresses and actors in the movie.

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<v Speaker 1>And she said, the woman that plays the grandma is

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<v Speaker 1>quite famous in Korea. She said she is a dynamic

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<v Speaker 1>woman that everybody respects because she doesn't take any guff.

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<v Speaker 1>Is this true? Yeah, I'll put it this way. When

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<v Speaker 1>some people in Korea found out that we were working

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<v Speaker 1>with Junia John, they sent a message over to our

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<v Speaker 1>production team to please be careful with her because she's

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<v Speaker 1>our national treasure. That's the words, kim you. She said,

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<v Speaker 1>she is a national treasure. When I told her I

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<v Speaker 1>got to speak with you, she said, oh, please tell

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<v Speaker 1>her how much we love her. We love her, We

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<v Speaker 1>love her like uh, you know, like the kind of

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<v Speaker 1>reverence you would give a mother, Teresa or something. She

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<v Speaker 1>was just so thrilled that I got to talk to you,

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<v Speaker 1>because you're connected with her. Yeah. You know what's so

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<v Speaker 1>interesting about her is it's not just her acting, which

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<v Speaker 1>is incredible, it's it's her whole personal narrative. She kind

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<v Speaker 1>of started back her career in her forties as a

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<v Speaker 1>single mom because she just wanted to support her kids,

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<v Speaker 1>and that the way in which she she worked so

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<v Speaker 1>hard and she sacrificed for a kid, and she got

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<v Speaker 1>into acting and took whatever role she could get. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>she ended up kind of symbolizing the spirit of a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of these these mothers who are doing so much

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<v Speaker 1>work in Korea. UM. So she's really a hero for

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people. And according to my Kimmy, she also

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<v Speaker 1>has done wonderful humanitarian things for people, especially moms who

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<v Speaker 1>are downtrodden. So she just really applauds her. So thank you,

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you. Thank you for everything, all the thought and

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<v Speaker 1>all the love that went into your movie. Oh, I

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<v Speaker 1>appreciate that. Thank you. And I gotta thank you John

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<v Speaker 1>for for being in this film to be honest, and

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<v Speaker 1>the little boy that plays you. Yeah, that that boy

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<v Speaker 1>was a miracle fine for us. Uh, he'd never acted before.

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<v Speaker 1>We kind of had about three weeks to sign that guy.

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<v Speaker 1>And we had this casting agent who was hanging out

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<v Speaker 1>in front of Korean schools and churches and handing out

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<v Speaker 1>flyers and and finally we stumbled upon this kid from

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<v Speaker 1>a casting call we put out in San Francisco and

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<v Speaker 1>he was just seven years old than we did this film. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>he's a lot cuter than I am. Oh my gosh,

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<v Speaker 1>he's adorable. And uh he played it so authentically, like

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<v Speaker 1>you forgot within two seconds of watching the movie that

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<v Speaker 1>you were watching a movie. Uh. He kept us all honest.

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<v Speaker 1>Even Stephen Gunn, who plays the dad. He he would

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<v Speaker 1>tell me, I can't lie in front of this kid.

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<v Speaker 1>I have to be completely honest because this kid will

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<v Speaker 1>call me on it because he just stays in his role.

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<v Speaker 1>He stays true to being that kid. Um. It was

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<v Speaker 1>so fun to work with him every day. On set.

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<v Speaker 1>So I have a farm. Farming is damned hard work.

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<v Speaker 1>How did your family make it? How did they how

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<v Speaker 1>did they survive? Because it's really hard work. And when

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<v Speaker 1>you have to decide between you know, water for your

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<v Speaker 1>household or water for your plants. Yeah, you know, farmers

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<v Speaker 1>are my favorite people. I just feel like, um, they're

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<v Speaker 1>doing such incredible work, the feeding people and their business

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<v Speaker 1>people that they've got the intelligent their scientists and they're

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<v Speaker 1>completely down to earth. Um, we've been there. We we

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<v Speaker 1>had that struggle with farming for a number of years

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<v Speaker 1>when I was a kid, um and my dad transitioned

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<v Speaker 1>into doing bo medicine and that's ultimately what we had

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<v Speaker 1>to do to financially make it because farming itself proved

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<v Speaker 1>to just be be too difficult. I think we had

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<v Speaker 1>a hard time in the eighties with it. I think

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of these smaller farms we were going away

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<v Speaker 1>at that time. But to anyone who's like, spill out

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<v Speaker 1>there farming, um, I mean, hats off, hats off, no kidding,

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<v Speaker 1>we're doing it, but we, like I said, we don't

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<v Speaker 1>depend upon it. We do it more as a hobby. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me about Minari. Where can I get some minari

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<v Speaker 1>seeds kim He says it is delicious. I went on online.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't find any minari seeds in America, and I've

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<v Speaker 1>got a creek bed to plant them on. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I gotta get you in touch with my dad. Then

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<v Speaker 1>somehow he he grew all the minari in our our film,

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<v Speaker 1>So he actually grew all the nady that you see. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know where he got the seeds for that,

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<v Speaker 1>but you can come to l A even and find

0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.800
<v Speaker 1>it in the supermarkets. But yeah, that's that's a good question.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know where to actually get it. You could

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<v Speaker 1>go to Korea as well. I could invite you over there.

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<v Speaker 1>I would love that. Kimmi goes every two years. Her

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<v Speaker 1>brother still lives there. She has two brothers actually that

0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.040
<v Speaker 1>lived there. So she goes every two years and spends

0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.600
<v Speaker 1>a couple of months and she comes back with the

0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:19.079
<v Speaker 1>most amazing red peppers for kimchi. We eat we kimchi

0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:23.000
<v Speaker 1>every day. She makes me care Rabbi kimchi and pickle kimchi.

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<v Speaker 1>And today we went and picked wild greens because we

0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.400
<v Speaker 1>love to pick o sari. And so today she made

0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:34.760
<v Speaker 1>kimchi out of last year's vegetables like broccoli and stuff

0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.160
<v Speaker 1>that overwintered in the garden. So we went and picked

0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.920
<v Speaker 1>all the leaves and today she made kimchi that for me.

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<v Speaker 1>But she said there's no place to get manari here

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<v Speaker 1>where we live. Yeah, it is kind of especialty item. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's even I have trouble finding it here. I'll be

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be completely honest with you. When I was a kid,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't like eating it. It's the name of the film,

0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.600
<v Speaker 1>but I felt like it would tasted very strong. But

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<v Speaker 1>but nowadays it's kind of like almost like cilantro or

0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.360
<v Speaker 1>a bit of a more spicy, sharp flavor that you

0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:12.680
<v Speaker 1>add two different dishes and it it takes really good.

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<v Speaker 1>So for for my listeners who might be thinking about

0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:20.959
<v Speaker 1>renting the movie finding the movie, uh, tell them why

0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:26.320
<v Speaker 1>it's called minori and the significance of that plant and

0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.560
<v Speaker 1>how it all kind of ties it together because it's

0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:32.240
<v Speaker 1>so beautiful. Yeah, thank you for that. Um, it's it's

0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:36.880
<v Speaker 1>honestly very personal. Um. My grandma when she came from Korea,

0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.920
<v Speaker 1>she basically came with the sole purpose of just watching

0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:42.960
<v Speaker 1>me and my sister because my parents both had to

0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:47.840
<v Speaker 1>work and we had a farm, and my grandma decided

0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:51.079
<v Speaker 1>she's going to plant this seed down by the creek

0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:56.400
<v Speaker 1>bed where nothing really grows, and um, that was Menari

0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.400
<v Speaker 1>and I just remember always going there with her and

0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.240
<v Speaker 1>she would tend to it and pick it while I

0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.320
<v Speaker 1>would sing songs and throw rocks at snakes. And that's

0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:10.960
<v Speaker 1>something that you see in the film. And when the

0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.839
<v Speaker 1>farm was ultimately struggling, we still found that what my

0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:18.120
<v Speaker 1>grandma planted down there was the only thing that really

0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.320
<v Speaker 1>took root and thrived. And I felt like it symbolized

0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:25.520
<v Speaker 1>a lot of who she was as a woman. Um,

0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:28.840
<v Speaker 1>the plant itself, you planted in places where the soil

0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.120
<v Speaker 1>is dirty, and it will clean up the soil. And

0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:33.280
<v Speaker 1>if if the water is dirty around it, if it's

0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:36.080
<v Speaker 1>known for purifying the water too. And that's just kind

0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.160
<v Speaker 1>of the presence I felt she had in our lives. Um. So,

0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.200
<v Speaker 1>as I was writing the film, I just felt like,

0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.400
<v Speaker 1>it's it's got to end with that image of that

0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:48.000
<v Speaker 1>that boy and his dad picking me nutty together, because

0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.400
<v Speaker 1>in my heart, that's kind of the way I want

0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.120
<v Speaker 1>to be living life, if that makes any sense. I

0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.960
<v Speaker 1>love that As a seed collector and a plant collector

0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:00.800
<v Speaker 1>and somebody who every time I go to somebody's house,

0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:02.480
<v Speaker 1>I like, can I have a start of that? Can

0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.480
<v Speaker 1>I have some of those seeds? I was so touched

0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:09.720
<v Speaker 1>when the grandma brought the seeds from her homeland, and

0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:14.520
<v Speaker 1>just the relationship that developed between between you, the little

0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:19.880
<v Speaker 1>boy that is you and your grandma. Silly, funny, beautiful,

0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.400
<v Speaker 1>just beautiful. I appreciate that. I just felt like I

0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:28.760
<v Speaker 1>wanted to Something that's been so special is that people

0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.520
<v Speaker 1>are really talking about her and this role of Unya

0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:36.440
<v Speaker 1>jong and Uh. I kind of wanted to make visible

0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:40.440
<v Speaker 1>somebody who was largely invisible when she was with us. Um.

0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:44.000
<v Speaker 1>So I've just been so pleased that she's being remembered

0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:47.800
<v Speaker 1>in some way. Well, I love Manari. I hope. Well.

0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:50.880
<v Speaker 1>I haven't tasted the actual Minari, but your film Manari?

0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:55.440
<v Speaker 1>How do you say it? How's the proper pronunciation? Um?

0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.120
<v Speaker 1>You know, if you say Minari, that's a lot of

0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.600
<v Speaker 1>people on set say that, and that's that's and is Korean?

0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:03.960
<v Speaker 1>We said, nay, almost there are is almost like a

0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:10.320
<v Speaker 1>d Manati. Okay, Manati, your Dad's got to get me

0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.760
<v Speaker 1>some of the seeds. And I want all of our

0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:17.600
<v Speaker 1>listeners especially. It seems so appropriate right now as we're

0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:22.360
<v Speaker 1>going through these challenges with COVID, as we're trying to

0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.560
<v Speaker 1>adjust to a new normal, whatever the hell that is.

0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.880
<v Speaker 1>And this film, like I said, I watched it with

0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:33.320
<v Speaker 1>my girls and it just it resonated with us for

0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:37.200
<v Speaker 1>so many different reasons. When we first when COVID first hit,

0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.920
<v Speaker 1>I took my in laws, who are actually my outlaws

0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.240
<v Speaker 1>because they're my ex husband's parents, but I care for them.

0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.560
<v Speaker 1>We took them with us, and there were nine of

0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.680
<v Speaker 1>us in a twelve hundred foot house for six months,

0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.760
<v Speaker 1>because they're elderly and most of my children nor medically fragile,

0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:55.200
<v Speaker 1>so I wanted to get them away from, you know,

0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.280
<v Speaker 1>a populated area where they would be safer and we

0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.920
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have to be pair annoyed all the time. And

0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:07.480
<v Speaker 1>I saw the same sort of beautiful relationships developing between

0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:11.359
<v Speaker 1>my children and Healed and Miguel, who are immigrants from

0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:17.919
<v Speaker 1>Costa Rica, and that same sort of generational you know,

0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:21.119
<v Speaker 1>the obstacles because we live in such different worlds, but

0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.919
<v Speaker 1>the way that our family jelled during that time was

0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.960
<v Speaker 1>such a precious gift from God. And I think that's

0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.880
<v Speaker 1>why it resonated with the girls and I so much.

0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:35.159
<v Speaker 1>That's so wonderful to hear. I was hearing this person

0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.720
<v Speaker 1>commenting on what's happening with COVID that in some ways

0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:40.560
<v Speaker 1>we're in a new land. All of us were in

0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.480
<v Speaker 1>a new place together. We're so journing and in that way,

0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:46.400
<v Speaker 1>I feel like that's the immigrant story, and we're all

0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.280
<v Speaker 1>living out that story where we're with our families and

0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:53.000
<v Speaker 1>trying to navigate this new place. Um. So yeah, bless

0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.240
<v Speaker 1>you in that. It's so great to hear that the

0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:59.320
<v Speaker 1>story resonated with you. Well, thank you for Manati. I

0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:04.120
<v Speaker 1>encourage everyone to watch it, especially if you've got sons

0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:08.600
<v Speaker 1>and daughters still at home, teenagers, young people. It's a beautiful,

0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:11.800
<v Speaker 1>beautiful movie, and I promise you will talk about it

0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:15.159
<v Speaker 1>for days to come, like we did. Appreciate that. And

0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:17.760
<v Speaker 1>I want some of that kimchi that your friend that

0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:21.199
<v Speaker 1>sounds really good. Oh my gosh. Yesterday for breakfast, I

0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.880
<v Speaker 1>had a little bit of rice, two eggs with the

0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.440
<v Speaker 1>yolk nice and running, and three kinds of kim chee

0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.840
<v Speaker 1>in my blow, almost like bab im pop, but just

0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.920
<v Speaker 1>kim chi. Kimchi, kimchi Kimchi. I was in heaven. It's

0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.680
<v Speaker 1>so good. Yeah, all right, you have a great day.

0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.960
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much. All right, thank you so great

0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:44.440
<v Speaker 1>talking with you. Alright. God bless you, Bube bye, God

0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:48.520
<v Speaker 1>bless you. As I mentioned when I was introducing my

0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:53.040
<v Speaker 1>wonderful guest today, the writer and director of the semi

0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:57.960
<v Speaker 1>autobiographical movie Minati, I was able to preview it with

0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.359
<v Speaker 1>a special screening link some weeks back, a couple of

0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:03.040
<v Speaker 1>months ago. The girls and I, my teenage girls and

0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.359
<v Speaker 1>I fell in love with it, and we obviously weren't

0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:10.560
<v Speaker 1>the only ones because it just won a Golden Globe award.

0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.480
<v Speaker 1>I don't know the criteria needed for such an honor,

0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.320
<v Speaker 1>but I can tell you why we loved it. As

0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:21.000
<v Speaker 1>I mentioned just now in my conversation with Isaac, when

0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:26.119
<v Speaker 1>coronavirus restrictions were first enacted early last year, my family

0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:31.200
<v Speaker 1>and I relocated to a really rural area. We took

0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:34.960
<v Speaker 1>off and we went to my husband's organic beef ranch.

0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:38.760
<v Speaker 1>We had to find our footing and finding our way,

0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:44.080
<v Speaker 1>especially for my kids, has been really, really challenging. That

0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:48.240
<v Speaker 1>was an experience that was very relatable to the Ye family.

0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:54.040
<v Speaker 1>The family pictured in the movie who moved from California

0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:58.320
<v Speaker 1>to a farming community in Arkansas to try to make

0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:02.760
<v Speaker 1>a better life for them. Elves I also found myself

0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:05.800
<v Speaker 1>musing over the hardships the Ye family faced as farmers

0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:10.360
<v Speaker 1>and the Ozarks, and wondering what the similarities and differences

0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:15.040
<v Speaker 1>between their experiences and my ancestors who farmed there for

0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.240
<v Speaker 1>generations before my grandparents migrated to the Pacific Northwest in

0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:23.639
<v Speaker 1>the nineteen fifties, what the similarities might have been. We

0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:28.280
<v Speaker 1>talked about having to choose between water for personal use

0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:32.679
<v Speaker 1>like cooking or drinking or bathing, or water for crop

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:38.680
<v Speaker 1>irrigation because there wasn't enough water for both. That, for example,

0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:42.840
<v Speaker 1>is probably something they might have had in common. Feeling

0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:46.960
<v Speaker 1>like outsiders in a tight knit old timer's community is

0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:50.239
<v Speaker 1>something they would not have had in common. But what

0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:54.040
<v Speaker 1>we really loved about the film we love the incredibly

0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:59.600
<v Speaker 1>rich and nuanced relationships between the characters, between the husband

0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:03.320
<v Speaker 1>and the between the sister and the brother, especially between

0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:07.159
<v Speaker 1>the grandchild and grandmother. That for me, that was my

0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:13.160
<v Speaker 1>favorite part of the movie. The way they illustrated the tensions,

0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:17.879
<v Speaker 1>the tenderness, the tenacity, the complexity of love and the

0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:21.240
<v Speaker 1>power it has over our lives. The casting in this

0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:26.400
<v Speaker 1>movie absolutely brilliant. I normally don't ever quote or even

0:21:26.480 --> 0:21:29.760
<v Speaker 1>read from promotional statements that I've been sent, but the

0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:33.679
<v Speaker 1>one for Manati is so spot on I'm making an exception.

0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:38.240
<v Speaker 1>It reads. Manati is a film that touches the heart

0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:41.960
<v Speaker 1>in so many places. The film has its fair share

0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:47.280
<v Speaker 1>of adversity, but its message throughout remains to always bear

0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:53.240
<v Speaker 1>in mind the importance of family, love, humility, and staying

0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:58.560
<v Speaker 1>optimistic when times are rough. As Philippians four six tells us,

0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:06.240
<v Speaker 1>don't we're about anything. Instead, pray about everything, tell God

0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:09.600
<v Speaker 1>what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:13.560
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't have said it better myself. Manati is in

0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:18.560
<v Speaker 1>select theaters now and available on demand everywhere. You don't

0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.399
<v Speaker 1>want to miss it, and you don't want to miss

0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:25.199
<v Speaker 1>any of my podcast either. Join me next time on

0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:27.600
<v Speaker 1>Love Someone with the line up