A sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.

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Cast

Credited cast:
...
Mija
...
Jongwook
Hira Kim ...
M. Kang
...
Kibum's father
Myeong-shin Park ...
Heejin's mother
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yong-taek Kim
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Storyline

A sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.

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Genres:

Drama

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Release Date:

13 May 2010 (South Korea)  »

Also Known As:

Poetry  »

Box Office

Budget:

KRW 1,300,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$18,900 (USA) (11 February 2011)

Gross:

$355,044 (USA) (12 August 2011)
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1.85 : 1
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Trivia

The idea for the film had its origin in a real-life case where a small town schoolgirl had been raped by a gang of teenage boys. When director Chang-dong Lee heard about the incident, it made an impact on him, although he hadn't been interested in basing a film on the actual events. Later, during a visit in Japan, Lee saw a television program in his hotel room. The program was edited entirely from relaxing shots of nature, "a peaceful river, birds flying, fishermen on the sea ? with soft new-age music in the background," and a vision for a possible feature film started to form. "Suddenly, it reminded me of that horrible incident, and the word 'poetry' and the image of a 60-year old woman came up in my mind. See more »

Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.6 (2011) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Poetic to the Last Frame
6 May 2013 | by (Canada) – See all my reviews

The theme of old age and illness find a new positive essence in poetry. A device to have even the elderly explore life in new and interesting ways. The excellent screenplay and brilliant directing from Chang-Dong Lee combined with an engaged ensemble cast and revealing cinematography, give place for an intimate interaction. The poets and aspiring poets fit well in this story of inner discovery. The inspiration is difficult to come by and external events will accentuate the duality of seeing life as an observer while also being an essential actor.

The multi-layered story has poetry, dialogue, imagery and much time for reflection. The film builds up to the last poem "Agnes' Song" by Mija Yang (the protagonist) which is powerful and perfect. Accentuated by it's accompanying images, it brings out life, beauty, sadness, acceptance, connection and so much more. The editing is especially effective here, but is extraordinary throughout. The ending confirms that the collections of individually intense and intelligent scenes witnessed transcends by transposing and transforming Mija and ultimately the viewer.

Hopefully this will inspire a perhaps much needed poetic view of this hypermodern world which can barely watch deliberate thoughtful meaningful measured movies like this, much less find and read a poem. Maybe this artistic beckon will even encourage someone to write one.


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