With less than a month to go before Oscar nominations are announced, film releases are coming down to the wire. By the time this will be published, the deadline for movies to release in order to be considered for Oscar nominations will pass, so nothing new is coming on the Oscars forefront. Though this year was not as packed cinematically as last year, there are still some great new releases. Two of these are Minari and Sound of Metal, both contenders for a bevy of Oscar noms.

Minari, based on Lee Isaac Chung’s own childhood, is about a Korean-American family that moves from California to an Arkansas farm, in search of striking rich and achieving the American Dream. Minari is a story of the pain of assimilation, the acceptance of heritage, and the importance of family. The screenplay is wonderful, touching and warm in a way that feels like a comforting hug for its whole runtime. Lachlan Milne’s cinematography is beautiful and vivid, and I found myself replaying the opening shot of the movie over and over again, mystified by Chung and Milne’s combined magic. The score is stunning, too, enough that I constantly thought, “Great score!” throughout the duration of the movie. Still, the performances of this movie are the absolute best parts of it, hands down. Everyone is terrific- especially seven-year-old Alan S. Kim, who shoulders the role of David, a young boy struggling with his identity, caught between the desire to reject his Korean roots or embrace them whole-heartedly. Every member of the main cast is excellent, and I hope more than anything that Han Ye-Ri and Youn Yuh-jung receive nominations for the roles of Monica and Soonja, respectively, alongside Steven Yuen as Jacob.

Sound of Metal seems like it should be a completely different story, but it isn’t, not really. It also deals with allowing oneself to connect with their true identity, though it does not handle race or ethnicity. Sound of Metal tells the story of Ruben Stone, a heavy metal drummer who loses his hearing due to the exposure from his job. A recovering addict who threw himself fully into drumming, Ruben doesn’t know what to do when he suddenly cannot hear. He ends up going to deaf commune in the countryside after much pushing, and comes to terms with his hearing loss. Sound of Metal is deeply authentic, due in part to the casting of actual deaf actors to play deaf characters. Many have hailed this as a step in the right direction for Hollywood, and I can’t agree more. Perhaps the most impressive part of Sound of Metal, though, is the sound design. It’s sensational. Throughout the movie, sound designer Nicholas Becker puts us into Ruben’s ears, creating scrapes and muffels and squeaks. At some points, it is entirely silent, and we can’t even hear characters breathing or wind rustling. The sound design is a spectacle, and perhaps the heart and soul of Sound of Metal. However, that is not to discount Riz Ahmed’s stellar performance as Ruben. Many have praised Ahmed as one of the best actors of the year, so I went into the movie with very high expectations. Those expectations were pleasantly fulfilled. Riz Ahmed is authentic and raw as Ruben, experiencing every emotion that comes with sudden deafness as viscerally as he can. Olivia Cooke as his girlfriend, Lou, similarly shines, though the movie is focused on Ruben. Tying up the main cast, Paul Raci as Joe, the head of the deaf commune where Ruben resides, is wonderful. Raci, who is a hearing person that grew up with deaf parents and one of the few hearing members of the cast, plays a Vietnam war veteran who lost his hearing in the war. The rest of the cast, even the smallest of roles, is made up of immensely talented actors. Though the actors are excellent, I sort of wonder if some characterization and development (specifically for Raci’s Joe) was lost in the spectacle that is the sound design. Still, the movie is enjoyable and moving, well-acted with beautiful cinematography (like Minari, this film has a wonderful opening shot) and clever captioning (the film is already subtitled, as much of it is communicated in sign language, but some parts of the film are not subtitled, due to Marder’s desire to put the viewer in Ruben’s shoes as he slowly learns sign language). 

Overall, Minari and Sound of Metal are both fantastic movies. Each is heartfelt and touching, packed with excellent performances and an overarching message of accepting yourself. I most definitely recommend them, and I hope you enjoy the magic to come out of Chung and Marder as much as I did.

Minari: A. Though it is slow in the beginning, it is delightful and deeply moving. Chung weaves a story that is pleasing yet still real to his experiences of assimilation and being an “outsider” in a white town in backwoods Arkansas. 

The Sound of Metal: A-. Beautiful cinematography, ridiculously terrific sound design, and moving performances. However, some parts of the characters were not as well fleshed out as they could be, lost in the haze of Ruben. Still, I loved it.

Minari is available February 24 on VOD services, and Sound of Metal is currently available on Amazon Prime.