Poetry
2011 Directed by Chang-dong Lee
Synopsis
Grandmother Mi Ja (Yoon Jeong Hee) works part-time as a caretaker, and struggles to raise a teen grandson (David Lee, Paradise Murdered) by herself. Despite her tough situation, she speaks softly, dresses fashionably, and approaches the world with child-like curiosity. Enrolling in a poetry class, she endeavors to capture life in verse form, but her simple dream of completing a poem is stalled by the early signs of Alzheimer's disease and the heavy financial and emotional burden of her grandson's shocking wrongdoing.
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One of the things that intrigues me when I look at my two year old son is his slowly growing command of our language. He struggles, tries and discovers a new realm of possibilities. I feel a bit like that right now. I feel to adequately capture the beauty of this film I need to learn how to speak again. I struggle with the limitations of my vocabulary, waiting for words to come and express the resounding emotions that resonate within this film.
In essence I feel like this heartfelt story's protagonist, searching for something against all odds. There are so many layers of warmth, bitterness and sweet sadness in this film that have to be experienced to fully appreciate them.
So I'll stop my ramblings and tell you, ney, urge you to watch this.
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This film was recommended to me (that's right; I'm FINALLY getting back to my recommendations list) by Adam Cook and thank you Adam for recommending me this. It is such a beautifully powerful film if I'd ever seen one. The acting is great, especially Yun Junhee in the lead. She delivers an amazing performance that is poignant, touching, and heartbreaking, much like the film itself. I don't want to say too much about this film because it is something that deserves to be experienced rather than discussed. It doesn't contain Fight Club-esque twists or anything like that, but it's a film with so much emotional depth to it that saying the smallest hint at the story could ruin that experience. It's best to go in with blind eyes. With that said, this is a beautiful, compelling, fascinating, engaging, and heartwrenching film that is hard to put in words but an amazing experience nonetheless.
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Poetry is a quietly affecting film of surprising power. It stars Yun Jeong-hie, who came out of retirement to play the lead role, and she delivers a quite staggering performance, imbuing her character with strength and purpose yet with a great fragility too. The foundations for the story appear deceptively simple; Mija, a 60-something woman, joins a poetry class but when instructed to write a poem by the end of the month she is struck by writer’s block. Yet this is a mere framework for the real story as Mija not only battles the possible early stages of dementia but a deep burden of guilt, grief and financial responsibility. The burden is not self-inflicted, instead thrust upon her by her…
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The event: a girl kills herself. The reason: unknown. Another fact: for months, a groups of 6 boys were making sex with this girl. The reason: they say she liked it.
The poetry: the journey of an old woman, grandmother of one of those 6 kids, ill and working as a housemaid to make extra-money and so raise his grandson, who is trying to comprehend this whole situation at the same time she is trying to write a poem.
Chang-dong Lee not only deserves credit for the gorgeous and heavily meaningful cinematography but also for the huge quality of this story, which is one of the most originals and mature I've seen in Korean cinema even though we are all…
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It's probably appropriate that I sit here, mocked by a flashing cursor, grasping at words for a movie where the protagonist spends most of her time trying to find the inspiration to write a poem. Highlighting its beauty, subtlety, and serene tone seems pointless - one can infer those qualities exist just from the title. And they don't really sell the movie in the way that it deserves to be sold. Would saying it makes me want to go give my Gramma a great big hug right now do the trick?
Yang Mija is such an endearing character, semi-retired and devoted to her shiftless grandson, caring for him when his mother, her daughter, can't or won't. She's the epitome of…
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This film's approach to its subject matter is a wonderful thing to experience. You can be happily watching the old lady wandering around, think her quest to learn how to write poetry is sweet and sad, enjoy the matter of fact way her world is visually presented, just drift on the humdrum of it all. But be warned. This film comes so stealth with it that it could well mess you up, probably for a while after watching it, and you may even fall in love with it if you give it a chance. If not the film then certainly its lead actress.
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this movie hits too close to home
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Quietly powerful and best experienced not knowing what is going to happen.
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This film's approach to its subject matter is a wonderful thing to experience. You can be happily watching the old lady wandering around, think her quest to learn how to write poetry is sweet and sad, enjoy the matter of fact way her world is visually presented, just drift on the humdrum of it all. But be warned. This film comes so stealth with it that it could well mess you up, probably for a while after watching it, and you may even fall in love with it if you give it a chance. If not the film then certainly its lead actress.
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I seem to be missing something here... Guess I'll try again sometime, with different subs.
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My only complaint would be that it's a bit too long, it kind of drags on a little bit towards the end, but the tone is very delicate and the film displays various feelings, the pace is slow (which makes us close to the main character's perception of time) and there is no soundtracks.
I guess Poetry is not far from Oasis, but there are more rich and interesting themes in this one, the main character (greatly played) is quite complex, and carries a heavy burden on her, yet she's so light. -
A beautifully shot and rendered film, Poetry encapsulates empathy for the other, the joy and the pain involved in truly seeing, and the continued--and maybe even increased--necessity for poetry in the modern world. Yun Jeong-hee's performance is touching, nuanced, inspiring, and devastating. The film slowly builds to a narrative and emotional crescendo that crushes, even as it provides hope of a better way to be human.
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"Shi" (aka: "Poetry" ou "Poesia") de Lee Chang-dong.
Um filme de tremenda honestidade, com uma grandiosa e admirável actuação da actriz principal octagenária, a Yun Junghee, que faz o papel de uma avó que toma conta sozinha de um neto (porque a filha mudou de relação e deixou-o a ela), trabalha prestando cuidados de saúde a um idoso e ainda é acossada ao pagamento duma divida ao grupo lá do bairro (devido a um crime a uma jovem, que repartiram a indemnização por várias pessoas, incluindo-a a ela).
Contudo, no meio de tudo isto, a senhora decide aprender poesia porque deseja escrever um poema só não o sabe como fazer e escrever (não se sabe expressar), só que entretanto descobre…
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I don't like minimalist films. Save for a few exceptions (Malick's films, Drive), I just can't get into quiet films such as this in which characters' deep emotions are hidden or a majority of the film is quiet and depressing.
That said, I would not dare discourage anyone from seeing this.
This is a quiet, incredibly deep, heartfelt film that, while I found too slow for my taste, I can completely understand why others would call it a masterpiece.
There are some phenomenal performances, ranging from poignant to disturbing. You can't help but love the lead character, and it's quite upsetting to see her when she's sad.
Speaking of sad, GOOD LORD. This film is absolutely soul-wrenching. There's some serious…
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Poetry is a stark, deliberate, and lyrical film that frankly, I'm still digesting. Yoon Jeong-hee gives one of the best performances I've ever seen. The plot and style are peeled back and what remains is a film that could never be made in Hollywood: one with primal beauty and subtext that, like poetry, demands great time and thought to fully understand.
I'm definitely going to watch this again soon.