Yara (2021): An Unfocused True Crime Narrative
The trouble with Yara (2021) is that in its attempt to tell the whole story, it struggles to tell a consistently engaging story.

With his film having failed and producer having run away, Man-soo needs to pay back all the film’s debts. While Man-soo also makes plans to run away, he receives a call from the money lender. Instead of paying back the money, the money lender proposes that Man-soo, as a favor to the money lender, make a movie for his old father. Old BAE is from North Korea, and has longed to visit his hometown before he dies. With no other alternative available, Man-soo accepts the threatening proposal to shoot the film. From the very beginning of shooting, things get more complicated, and soon they find themselves in a big mess.
The trouble with Yara (2021) is that in its attempt to tell the whole story, it struggles to tell a consistently engaging story.
This showcase of Hollywood’s finest talent will certainly be around come awards season, and much deserved
In a film where a Black couple is framed to be the lead characters, they still managed to get shuffled off to the sidelines. The enthusiastic cast delivers well on goofy bits- but can only go so far before they begin to fall flat.
Spoiler Warning
From its visually stunning opening credits, which show women dancing through a forest to musical rhythms that sound almost primal, to its quiet, heartbreaking final frame, Mona Fastvold’s historical rendering of the Shaker religious movement is an experience that will stay with me for a long time.
When it comes down to it, The English explores what happens when power is unchecked and how those who seem powerless, have more strength than most through their convictions for justice.