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Poetry

Play trailer 1:43 Poster for Poetry Released Feb 11, 2011 2h 19m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 70 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Kind-hearted Mija (Yun Jung-hee) is tasked with raising her troubled teenage grandson, Jong-wook, while her daughter works in far-off Busan. In denial that her abilities as a caregiver are threatened by the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, Mija begins to study poetry writing at the local cultural center. At first she finds inspiration in the beauty of the natural world, but then, when Jong-wook is mired in a shocking scandal, Mija taps into newfound depths of disappointment and pain.
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Poetry

Poetry

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Critics Consensus

Poetry is an absorbing, poignant drama because it offers no easy answers to its complex central conflict.

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Critics Reviews

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Trevor Johnston Sight & Sound It's fair to say that the subject-matter... is likely to be a hard sell, but the quality of the film is such that it simply demands an airing. Jul 10, 2018 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader True to the title, writer-director Lee Chang-dong is principally concerned with rendering emotions that seem inexpressible. Jan 4, 2012 Full Review Maggie Lee The Hollywood Reporter Those with an eye for reading between the lines can find layers of meaning. Jan 4, 2012 Full Review Felicia Feaster Charleston City Paper That untapped potential and creativity lurking even within ordinary people is the overriding theme of Lee's achingly poignant film. Jan 21, 2020 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Yun gives us a lifetime in a few hours. Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 17, 2020 Full Review Ard Vijn ScreenAnarchy Strongly recommended for the patient and contemplative, as is usual with the works of Lee Chang-dong. Jan 14, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Veteran Korean actress Yoon Jeong-hee is the truest morally sympathetic soul that keeps the well-written poignant drama afloat that poetically describes wordlessly her thought process towards new developments in life she had to find new meaning. Its titular subject absorbed attention and how such learning experience gets approached and meaningfully structured, despite at times losing focus and just become performative showcases. That very focus becomes more distant when the central conflict makes the story problematically immoral in depicting illogically stalled injustice that lacks depth for any sort of presented reasons. (B) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member To be clear and honest, such a boring and slow-paced film with an inferior ability to catch the attention of the audience. Not much interesting aspects in the narrative or the plot of this movie Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/10/22 Full Review william d Yoon Jeong-hee is exceptional. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review dave s Poetry is a quiet and contemplative film about finding hope in the face of unthinkable sorrow and loss. Yang Mija is a grandmother who takes care of her grandson, a taciturn teen who is found to be implicated in the suicide of a schoolmate. While dealing with this matter, she discovers that her recent bouts of memory loss are attributable to the early stages of Alzheimer's. In order to find solace and meaning, she enrolls in a poetry class. The movie relies on images to express the feelings experienced by the characters, most notably those of the devastated grandmother, relying on long takes and probing shots of faces and actions. Despite an ambiguous ending regarding the fate of the protagonist, it's a poignant film about coming to terms with fate. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Directed by Lee Chang-dong in 2010, "Poetry" (Original: Shi) is a Korean film and the winner of the "Best Screenplay Award" at the Cannes Film Festival, along with its success in winning and being nominated for several prizes in terms of best screenplay, best picture, best actress and best achievement in directing. The film mainly tells the story of an old woman who developed an interest in writing a poem in her late sixties when she was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and has trouble remembering the words. On the other hand, there is another story parallel to her interest in poetry: Her adolescent grandson whom she raises committed a crime in collaboration with five of his classmates. They raped one of their classmates who ended up committing suicide after six months of constant assault. Full review: https://guncesinema.com/en/south-korean-cinema-poetry/ Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Different from poetry, it's a growing visage beyond words, an indecipherable poem, the curse of age and Lee Chan-Dong is the Edward Hopper of Korean Cinema. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Poetry

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kind-hearted Mija (Yun Jung-hee) is tasked with raising her troubled teenage grandson, Jong-wook, while her daughter works in far-off Busan. In denial that her abilities as a caregiver are threatened by the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, Mija begins to study poetry writing at the local cultural center. At first she finds inspiration in the beauty of the natural world, but then, when Jong-wook is mired in a shocking scandal, Mija taps into newfound depths of disappointment and pain.
Director
Lee Chang-dong
Producer
Lee Jun-dong
Screenwriter
Lee Chang-dong
Production Co
Painhauseupilreum
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 11, 2011, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Apr 26, 2024
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 24, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$355.0K
Runtime
2h 19m
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