User Reviews

In recent weeks five teenagers have killed themselves as a result of bullying. A new poll has indicated that slightly more than a third of teens in the U.S. personally have been subjected to bullying behavior. In the poll, more than two-thirds of teens also said their friends about been bullied. Yet a majority of adults, according to the poll, believe bullying is a minor problem or not a problem at all. In the macho society we live in and tolerate, women are even more likely to be victims than men. In Lee Chang-dong's latest film Poetry, winner of the award for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival, a young girl commits suicide after being repeatedly raped by a group of juveniles. Sadly, the fathers of the other boys are only interested in protecting their sons from prosecution, silencing the press and school officials, and collecting enough money to pay off the girl's mother.

Like Secret Sunshine, Poetry revolves around a woman mourning the death of a child, although here it is not her own. The idea for the film had its origin in a true case where a small town schoolgirl had been raped by a gang of teenage boys. In contrast to the grandmother in Bong-Joon-ho's Mother who refused to believe her son was responsible for a murder, Mija, a 66-year old played by Yung Jungee in her first role in 16 years, learns from the fathers of the other boys that her 16-year old grandson Wook (Lee Da-wit) was one of the six people involved in the rape and wishes to pursue justice. Though Mija privately knows that it is more important for the boys including her own to acknowledge their role in the crime, living in the male-dominated middle class Korean society, she reluctantly tries to raise her share of the payoff money, but expresses her feelings in not wanting to participate by the look on her face and by abruptly walking out of meetings.

Rebelling against society's norms comes naturally to Lee's characters even though they have suffered a terrible loss or, in the case of Mija, is beginning to suffer the effects of encroaching dementia. Always dressed in flowery clothes and looking cheerful, Mija takes care of Wook in the absence of his mother who is divorced and living in Pusan and she supports herself by taking care of a stroke-ridden elderly man. Unfortunately, Wook spends most of his time on his computer or cell phone and there is little communication between grandmother and grandson. Aside from screaming at Wook, "Why did you do it?" Mija does not attempt to engage in conversation with the boy about treating others with civility and respect, nor apparently do the fathers of the other boys talk to their sons about their atrocious behavior.

After seeing a poster that reminds her that one of her teachers once told her that she had a vein for poetry, Mija, on a whim, enrolls in a poetry class and the film follows her attempt to write a single poem before the class ends. Some of the most affecting scenes in the film are the discussions in the poetry class led by their teacher who tells them poetry does not require a special time or place or even inspiration, it only requires seeing the world as if for the first time and asks the class to share their memory of the most beautiful time in their life. Another poignant moment is when Mija meets the mother of the deceased girl (Park Myeong-sin) in a field and establishes a relationship based on the world that they see around them, even though she neglects to ask her if she would accept a cash settlement, the reason she went to visit her.

Lamenting the fact that poetry is a dying art, Lee challenges us to see the beauty and the transcendence beyond the pain of the modern world. Speaking at a press conference, he said, "Poetry is not just like a bouquet of flowers that is beautiful in itself," he says. "It is life. No matter the ugliness of the world, there's always something beautiful inside. That's what I wanted to show." Lee succeeds in showing us the beauty beneath the ugliness and the fact that regardless of our age or circumstances, we have the ability to transform our lives. Yet the question must be raised – would not Mija have made more of a difference if she had engaged in a quiet conversation with her morally-challenged grandson about knowing why it is wrong to be reckless with the lives of others than in waxing poetic about flowers and fruits, or even life and death?

First, let it be emphasized, as stated above, that this review contains spoilers, some quite major ones at that, so if you have not seen this movie and intend to do so, I'd advise you to skip this piece for now.

Last year I had the good fortune of seeing the rarely-screened (albeit often-praised) Brazilian silent film LIMITE, and it left me in a state of mind where it seemed quite stupid to say anything about it, as no written word could do it justice. (This reaction is not necessarily a negative thing, providing that you defy it and write something anyway.) The next time a film had this effect on me was a few days ago, with Lee Chang-dong's POETRY. Made some eighty years after the former, I won't compare the two films, other than noting that I think both, at least indirectly, cover a sort of identical inner subject; beauty within ugliness. Both films are extremely visual, LIMITE inescapably so as it is a silent film, whereas POETRY confirms that also in this day and age, the power of the spoken word is ultimately dependent on our ability to use it sparingly, and let what can only be seen, felt and smelled, remain only seen, felt and smelled. Lee Chang-dong, one of the most promising Korean directors around these days, understands this, as he brutally deprives us of the comforting accessibility found in who-knows-how-many Hollywood-films; and instead, presents to us something which is maddeningly cruel and frustrating, but equally inspiring and peaceful.

Mija (brilliantly portrayed by Jeon-hie Yun in what seems to be her first performance in a number of years) is a poor, elderly woman who is trying to raise her much-troubled grandson. Being a victim of the largely male-dominant society still present in some Asian cultures, she is unable to respond with much else than personal frustration when realizing that the fathers of a group of boys responsible for the raping of a girl, which led to the latter committing suicide, are concerned about nothing else than the futures of their own sons; her own grandson is among the suspects. Apparently, the fathers are incapable of feeling any genuine sorrow on behalf of the girl and her family, and arrange it so that the relatives of the victim are paid a certain sum of money, to "get the problem out of the world," and avoid that the police gets involved. While Mija undergoes this extremely difficult time, she tries to complete a poetry course, but feels unable to write satisfactorily. She is explained by the teacher, a well-known poet, that writing poetry should not be about seeking a moment of inspiration, but to SEE THINGS, experience their shapes and forms. She tries to little avail…for a considerable time.

This leads me to one of the most poignant scenes in the film, and one that tempted a few tears out of me. During one of the poetry lessons, the attendants are asked to share their most beautiful moment in life. As we hear their experiences, it is startling to notice that several of the stories consist of things which, if solely observed from the outside, would appear sad or even ugly; but when said memories are being projected through the minds of their beholder, they will often become beautiful, in some confusing, inexplainable manner. As Mija realizes this, she manages to write one profound, deeply moving poem dedicated to the poor girl who committed suicide; she finds beauty within ugliness. I do not need to stress that a suicide, the earthly departure of an unfortunate soul as a result of terrible circumstances, is NOT, in any possible way, a beautiful thing. But when the immediate shock and frustration following such a tragedy has begun to fade, and the gradual distance between the present and the tragedy makes the victim reappear in our consciousness again as something more than a victim, but as the smiles, laughs, shapes and colors which also once defined this person, it may evoke a feeling of beauty. I wasn't very conscious of this while the movie played, but I did indeed begin to think of sad, but beautiful memories as this scene went on and afterwards.

POETRY is a film which invites you to enter a certain state of mind, and demands that you stay there at least as long as the film running. At two and a half hours, it may sound long, but the fact is that I didn't think of the time. One thing worth noting is that the film does not have a soundtrack, beyond occasional noise from the records of the grand-son, yet I felt that it largely gave me a sort of musical experience; if I was to do something so banal as to compare it to a musical piece, I'd probably choose Shastro's "Tale of the Sands." Much more could be said, but, well…I feel stupid enough already!

The elements are there for a great story. An elderly woman experiencing the onset of dementia whilst trying to raise her grandson.

I love Korean cinema and was greatly disappointed by this one. The lead actress tries very hard and you do feel much empathy for her. What lets this film down is the pacing and an ending that leaves more questions than answers. Some scenes go on way too long and I believe this film could have been edited. I guess the director was trying to show the effects of the disease by having so many scenes of the old woman looking spacey and vague and wandering about. I just feel the story strands about her son and his friends and the crime they commit was not handled better or sooner.

I enjoyed AWAY FROM HER much better than this and thought that tackled a similar subject in a much more accessible way.

Not a lot of people probably have saw Shi(aka Poetry), due to its limited opening in theaters and the fact that the movie is in Korean. Those who did see the film probably have the same feeling like me: it's a beautiful influential film. I think the movie title can be a bit misleading, just as much as the trailer. While, it's does have an elderly woman name Yang Mija (Yun Jung-hee) struggles with new vocabulary and the challenges of the creative process trying to write one poem while struggling Alzheimer's disease. It's Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival's story is mostly about something else. This South Korean film written and directed by Lee Chang-dong is mostly about the elderly woman having to deal with her grandson's Jong Wook (Da-wit Lee) actions. She discover that her grandson along with his five male friends might have over a period of six months, repeatedly raped a girl, at their school. The victim left a diary at home before committing suicide by tossing herself off a bridge into a river. The movie opens up with the powerful image of children playing near the river, only to find that a lifeless body is floating in the water with little to no soundtrack. The diary is discovered and in order to avert a full police investigation, the parents of the boys offer to pay a settlement to the family affected. The film deals with the fact that Mija must chose to expose the crime or hide it from the public. Only by using poetry, does she find her answer to that question. Lee wrote the lead character specifically for Yoon Jeong-hee, a major star of Korean cinema from the 1960s and 1970s. Yoon Jeong-hee is perfect in the role despite the fact that she hasn't act in a film in 16 years. There was some many sub-plots that it can be overwhelming. Examples are Mija having to deal with the behavior of the elderly stroke victim M. Kang (Hira Kim), for whom she cleans and cares a couple of times a week and her having poverty problems to make the amount for the settlement that her grandson friend's father (Nae-sang Ahn) is asking. At less, in the end, it all connects in a powerful ending with "Agnes' Song" poem by the protagonist. I cried to tears when watched Poetry ant the very end, when the old lady reads her first poem. "An extraordinary vision of human empathy" Indeed, empathy should be the name of this film however I believe the poet must have empathy, sensibility, compassion and understanding about every little think, something most do not have and we need to learn it, like the old lady did. The director leaves a lot of loose ends in the end of the film, letting the viewer form his or her own interpretation of what happened and what it means. The film is beautifully shot, with some great cinematography. The scene with Mija looking at the bridge that the girl jump off is very commanding and get you emotional into the film. The idea for the film had its origin in a true event where a small town schoolgirl had been raped by a gang of teenage boys. Some of the faults of the film might be its slow pace. A little on the long side at 2 hours and 20 minutes. I think if they had cut about 10-15 minutes from this movie, it would have worked much better. There are a lot of scenes with little to no dialogue. It's really does seem like an unrated International Art House film with a lot of poetry reading scenes that has nothing to do with the main plot. I think those scenes were used just to lecture people how poetry should be people's life more. I think humanity would be in such a better place if we, alongside the sciences, also learned poetry as a fundamental part of our education. Not just reading poetry, but writing it, living it, and being completely free in it. Very inspiring part of the film, but not really needed. Overall: Extraordinary film, totally took me by surprise. Sadly it didn't win or wasn't nominated for Best Foreign film for the Academy Award. In my opinion, I think it's the best foreign film of 2010. It really deserves a Oscar win that year. Although not for everyone, those who enjoy cinematic experiences can definitely be taken away by this movie. The acting was beautiful and it was heartbreaking and touching at the same time. One of the best films of the year.

I love the slow pace, depiction of everyday life and urban and rural scenography in this film. And the subtle observations. A woman shaking her head at the protagonist watching a tree is later seen looking at the same tree, trying to understand.

I also love that the film is about an elderly woman finally following a passion after devoting her life to others. I could watch a whole film about her just doing little things in her search for poetry. In that way it reminds me of Jarmusch's later film Paterson.

But the film also tackles a devastating issue, a rape-induced suicide, making the protagonist a sort of a puppet in a cover-up by the five fathers. (Which raises a question: Where are the mothers?) At one low point the protagonist prostitutes herself to save her spoiled grandson from being punished for his crime. It's a tragic scene reminiscent of the fall of Fantine of Les Miserables.

The grandson and friends' rape is clearly the result of a boundaryless male sexuality that runs through society, shown by her boss' sexual abuse, and even in some of the men's poetry. Eventually, the grandson and friends are eventually arrested for their crime despite their rich fathers trying to cover it up, indicating trust in the justice system. But I don't see any attempt in this film to condemn and demand change. The stance seem to be: Bad things happen, but at least we can find beauty in them through poetry. I find that message a bit evasive.

Mija is a fading flower of a woman, elegantly winsome as she meanders through her neighborhood, taking time to enjoy a breeze and listen to birdsong.

Life is troubled for Mija (Jeong-hie Yun). At 66, she has begun forgetting words and she has a trying housemate in her grandson Wook (Da-wit Lee), who does little other than eat her food, leave his garbage lying around, and dismiss her concerns.

Mija's life takes on intensity as she joins a poetry-writing class for adults, and learned that Wook and five friends had raped a classmate who subsequently committed suicide with a leap into a river.

This film raises powerful questions about personal responsibility in an age of waning values and expediency. Fathers of the boys want to erase the problem by collecting money for the aggrieved mother, in hopes of dissuading her from making a complaint to the police. This way the boys' futures, and their school's reputation, won't be destroyed.

Had Mija really needed a poetry class? She is the only one who thinks of the suicide victim as real, and feels the mother's pain. ("It's not difficult to write a poem, but to have the heart to write a poem," her poetry instructor had said.)