Poetry (2010)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Carlos M

  
  An irregular, overlong drama that wants to discuss many subjects but gets lost among ideas that are not fully developed or well explored. It could have been better edited and focused more on the protagonist's fascination with poetry and inspiration.

• Reid V

  
  It is hard to put in to words, but originally when I read the synopsis of this film I was very apprehensive. An ailing woman begins to take poetry classes while her grandson is caught up in up a event that could compromise his future. I assumed that this poetry class would awaken… More
  It is hard to put in to words, but originally when I read the synopsis of this film I was very apprehensive. An ailing woman begins to take poetry classes while her grandson is caught up in up a event that could compromise his future. I assumed that this poetry class would awaken something inside her that would equip her for this trial in life. All the while serene and beautiful images float across the screen to delicate strings. Sweet but manipulative. Well, I have to say I was wrong. Dead wrong. In fact, for a film that SHOULD have been wrought with sentimentality, it was surprisingly austere. The film was adorned with very little music, and no fancy camera work. The woman's artistic journey is sincere and shows that even though you may be feeling the emotion, most people cannot translate that to the page. Oddly enough, as this woman continues to toil in her tragically poetic life, I found myself wanting to write the poetry for her. Every scene became a new stanza in my mind and I tried to make up for the protagonist's inability to capture the moment in words. Rather than create unexpected inspiration, Lee waits for understanding, which takes time. This isn't a film to rush through. It must unravel before you if you are to make any sense of her journey. They state in the film that to write poetry is to seek beauty, which I find Lee marvelously accomplishes.

• Jan Marc M

  
  Poetry courageously confronts sensitive themes with inspiration confused by an intrapersonal conflict that expounds on death, pain, and justice. Elegant and beautiful, Poetry is appropriately titled, with Chang-dong Lee of Secret Sunshine, creating a masterpiece that peacefully… More
  Poetry courageously confronts sensitive themes with inspiration confused by an intrapersonal conflict that expounds on death, pain, and justice. Elegant and beautiful, Poetry is appropriately titled, with Chang-dong Lee of Secret Sunshine, creating a masterpiece that peacefully identifies with the complex consequences of a serious criminal offense. A valiant moral compass.

• Greg S

  
  A Korean grandmother in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's takes a poetry class to fulfill a lifelong ambition. Dry, subtle character study that gains narrative drive from a slow-boil subplot about the suicide of a local girl; it's poetic indeed.

• William D

  
  "Poetry," the new film from South Korea's Lee Chang-dong, should have been wonderful, but it is destroyed by a terrible editing job. Almost every scene is five times longer than necessary, creating a maddening feeling of languor, and extraneous material also clouds the… More
  "Poetry," the new film from South Korea's Lee Chang-dong, should have been wonderful, but it is destroyed by a terrible editing job. Almost every scene is five times longer than necessary, creating a maddening feeling of languor, and extraneous material also clouds the focus of the film. There is a masterful, melancholy film somewhere deep inside the 100 or so hours that Mr. Lee shot for this project. But the editor had no idea how to whittle down the footage to find that film. Bad editing is so common nowadays. Yet prominent critics never complain about it. We will only get better editing if we start demanding it. If critics remain silent, filmmakers will never know that there is a problem. This gives me a feeling of doom because there is no sign that top critics have noticed all the weak editing on movie screens today. "Poetry" tells the story of a lower-middle-class, semi-educated grandmother who's been discarded by just about everybody in her life. Her teenage grandson has been left in her care in a tiny one-bedroom apartment for reasons that aren't explained. She tries to provide parenting, but the boy basically ignores her - just like everyone else does. Yun Jeong-hie, who was a big star in the 1970s, plays the grandmother in a gentle, slightly over-sweet way. This lonely old woman has two main things going on in her life. She is taking a poetry class for the first time, trying to see life in new ways so that she can write her first poem. She has also just received news that her self-absorbed grandson has committed a horrific crime. She is given the opportunity to sweep the crime under the rug if she can come up with a huge sum of money. Even if she does decide to do this, there is the problem of coming up with the money. She is juggling several huge dilemmas when what she really wants to do is write a poem about birds, trees and flowers. One scene captures her denial particularly well. When she is first told about the crime, she goes into something like catatonic shock. Then she silently gets up right in the middle of the meeting when people are speaking, walks outside, and starts marveling at the flowers. Struggles with denial, aging, loneliness, grand-parenting, and learning to see life in new ways toward the end of one's life is terrific subject matter. But it's almost too much. When a movie is in so many places, it's especially urgent that the editor know what he's doing. Sadly, that was not the case here. What we end up with is something like a rough draft of a masterful film, more than a finished product. Maybe in 10 years a brash young filmmaker can remake this film and do a better job. This is one film that is worth remaking.

• Alireza M

  
  Beautifully made from director of Oasis.He has tried to create a real and tangible atmosphere about the modern life's social disorders.The main story shows us the bitter side of machinery life and at the same time, connection of the creativity in writing poem with tasting the… More
  Beautifully made from director of Oasis.He has tried to create a real and tangible atmosphere about the modern life's social disorders.The main story shows us the bitter side of machinery life and at the same time, connection of the creativity in writing poem with tasting the bitterness of life.It's one of those movies which leaves you with an unusual feeling. After watching it you feel that it hasn't finished yet and you're going to live with that for days. Movie tries to say what the modern society and machinery life has brought up is the youth's depression, sexual disorders, material life and destruction of morality. New generation seems more frustrated than older ones.There is a gap between the generations in this society whose bitter side is more inspiring for writing poem than it's hidden beauty .The forced bitterness and disorders that makes our passionate feeling about discovering the nature's beauty unreal.

• Mark A

  
  A quiet film depicting the hopes and dreams of an elderly woman in Korea, whose lazy, disrespectful grandson lives with her. This film captured the viewer's heart with its honesty and visually poetic scenes. Almost a tone poem in its presentation, it follows Mija (Jeong-hie Yun)… More
  A quiet film depicting the hopes and dreams of an elderly woman in Korea, whose lazy, disrespectful grandson lives with her. This film captured the viewer's heart with its honesty and visually poetic scenes. Almost a tone poem in its presentation, it follows Mija (Jeong-hie Yun) as she tries to find some inspiration for writing poetry. No high drama here, no wild action sequences, or clever camera angles to distract from the beauty of the story as it unfolds in a most natural way. We come to care deeply about this woman who struggles to provide a home for her grandson while digesting two events that rock her world. In the end, she does what her sense of duty demands and in so doing creates beauty out of tragedy. The llead actress was drawn out of semi-retirement to be a part of this film and one has to wonder how much more beautiful our world would be if she hadn't waited so long. What a marvelous actor, at the top of her game.

• Walter M

  
  In "Poetry," Mija(Jeong-hie Yun) is a 66 year-old grandmother who lives with her good-for-nothing teenaged grandson, Jongwook(Da-wit Lee), in a small city while his mother lives in Busan. Mija goes to the hospital because her arms are tingly and also reports that she has… More
  In "Poetry," Mija(Jeong-hie Yun) is a 66 year-old grandmother who lives with her good-for-nothing teenaged grandson, Jongwook(Da-wit Lee), in a small city while his mother lives in Busan. Mija goes to the hospital because her arms are tingly and also reports that she has been forgetting words. The doctor is more concerned with her memory loss and recommends a complete check-up at a hospital in Seoul. With little else to occupy her life outside of taking care of Kang(Hira Kim), an elderly invalid, and her grandson, she signs up for a poetry class where the students are assigned to write a poem for the class. So, she definitely has time to meet some of the fathers of Jongwook's friends... On the surace, "Poetry" is about the attempt to write a single poem which may seem like a slight subject for a feature film, but as the movie makes clear in its own leisurely way, creation is much harder than a single act of destruction. And this is a task made harder as Mija is in the process of losing the words necessary to express herself. For the record, poetry really is not about how you see the world(which changes for Mija throughout the movie, even as people always see her in the same way) and pretty flowers. It's about emotion. The one thing that troubles me about "Poetry" is the possible blame laid at Mija's feet for her grandson's behavior since she seems to have little control over him, and therefore inferring that Jongwook badly needs a man in his life. However, his friends, who all seem to be from wealthier families, have fathers who are present in their lives. And since the movie is told entirely from Mija's perspective(she is almost never absent from the frame), we never find out if Jongwook is ring leader or just along for the ride.

• Grant B

  
  Right from the beginning, this film wraps the viewer in beauty with conflict. Korean film director Lee Chang-Dong tells a beautiful story about an elderly woman who is beginning to suffer from Alzheimer's. Though aging, she is full of life and energy, and as words begin to… More
  Right from the beginning, this film wraps the viewer in beauty with conflict. Korean film director Lee Chang-Dong tells a beautiful story about an elderly woman who is beginning to suffer from Alzheimer's. Though aging, she is full of life and energy, and as words begin to escape her memory she decides to take a poetry class. Around the same time, the dead body of a middle school girl washes up in the river, and the story that connects these two distant lives feels real in this often cruel world that we share. Very rarely do films capture age this accurately, and the result is a mesmerizing film with soul and passion. The screenplay, written by the director, truly gives the lead actress the ability to flow into the role, and as a result, everything that she says and does feels true and honest. There are several moments of joy and happiness, and many moments of sorrow and loss, but thanks to great writing, the film feels balanced and whole. Everything about this film, regardless of its South Korean setting, feels so tangible and relatable, and that's truly the mark of a great film. "Poetry" doesn't answer everything, but it leaves a lasting impact and is an easy film to feel connected to as we all will eventually age. Truly a must-see.

• August S

  
  Realistic and honest drama that greatly portrays realistic problems of life that we are too busy to see. Poetry brings us real drama topped with solid acting that really gives us something so captivating yet so sad.

• Daisy M

  
  Lee Chang Dong is surely one of Korea's best director now a days, and I have seen Oasis and now Poetry, and both were captivating movies, keeping one attention from the beginning till the end. Poetry is definitely not for an average movie viewer, who maybe is looking for… More
  Lee Chang Dong is surely one of Korea's best director now a days, and I have seen Oasis and now Poetry, and both were captivating movies, keeping one attention from the beginning till the end. Poetry is definitely not for an average movie viewer, who maybe is looking for something entertaining. It was more an exploration of difficult human conditions that people might find a bit boring. But Poetry was meaningful and deep in its own way. It presented life realistically, and also some positive ways for finding relief within the worst conditions, in this case, the old lady looked for learning poetry. It can be misunderstood by some viewers but it is surely a movie that required effort to think and understand the movie for what it is. Once you can appreciate the purpose if it, it will become a wonderful movie for what it's worth. I was speechless.

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