Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Joe Korean cinema for whatever reason has been ahead of everyone else for quality and high standards for so long now, that really we should just take it for granted.Amongst the stable of high quality film making is this gem, an elegiac tale of one old woman who has found out she likely has Alzheimer's disease but hides it from all, not that others seems to care for her. Her life is surrounded by tragedy as the death of a young schoolgirl comes close to home, and everyone she seems to connect to in this family seem almost amoral. Her only escape, is the Poetry class she has signed up to, but she doesn't know what to write.This film is beautifully shot and wonderfully written, but it's the central performance of Jeong-hie Yun as our lead lady who captures your heart while you watch this. You will little find another character you will empathise with as much as this one who seems to still smile even though you know all the heartache that is happening.I really recommend this. It all leads up to a mesmerising finale, it's an excellent film I hope that as many can watch it as possible.

doug_park2001 POETRY is a beautifully cast tragi-comedy that allows its audience an intriguing view of daily life in Korea. Its 2 hr, 19 min length, with relatively little fast action or hard tension, may prove a hindrance to many audiences. However, the cinematography is ultra-fine with some very lush scenery, and Yun Jung-hee is just superb as Mija, a 66-year-old poet-at-heart who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is also beset with a troublesome grandson who, along with five of his friends, is part of a serious scandal involving the suicide of a female classmate. This is a truly poignant film that succeeds in being artsy without being the least bit pretentious. Anyone interested in poetry-in-general should like POETRY.

ironhorse_iv 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.

Tweekums As this film opens we see a group of children playing by a river; then the body of a young girl floats into view... one could be excused for expecting a mystery at this point but that isn't what this film is about. We soon learn that the girl is named Agnes and she drowned herself; her dairy made it clear that the reason she killed her self is that she had been repeatedly raped by six boys at her school... the film follows the story of one of the boy's grandmothers; sixty six year old Mija who is suffering the early stage of Alzheimer's. Before we learn of her grandson, Wook's, involvement Mija learns that a girl in his year has killed herself; he appears indifferent and claims not to have known her. It is only later when the father of one of the other boys tells her crime that we learn what happened; there is no mystery as to whether it did happen as the boys all admit it. The only question is what will happen next; the school doesn't want the negative publicity and the other boy's fathers want to protect their children's futures; to this end they propose paying Agnes mother five million Won (~US$4.400) each so that she won't press charges. Mija doesn't have that sort of money but finds herself pressured to get it.While this is going on she has started attending a poetry class and even though she can't find inspiration herself she also attends local poetry readings. She starts noting down her thoughts on little things such as the taste of a fallen apricot or the colours of some flowers; all the while though she can't stop thinking about Agnes and ultimately she provides the inspiration for her poem.This film is quite different from any other I can think of; we are often shown crimes from the viewpoint of the police, the victim's family and even the criminal but here it is from the viewpoint of a perpetrator's grandmother; a good woman who clearly doesn't know what she should do; her grandson is clearly unpleasant but from what the father's say his victim's mother needs the money more than she needs to see the guilty jailed. Jeong-hie Yun is a delight as Mija; it was refreshing to see a woman her age in the leading role. Director Chang-dong Lee takes things slowly, which might put off some viewers, I found it just served to draw me into the story more thoroughly. Not speaking Korean I can't comment of the beauty of the poetry, a subtitled translation can't be a substitute; however I can comment on the visual beauty of those scenes where Mija left her town and headed out into the countryside where Agnes lived and died; it was beautiful without being overly dramatic. There is ugliness too of course; we have to wonder how the school and the fathers could countenance such a crime. This might not be a typical film but I'd certainly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.