Synopsis
A sexagenarian South Korean woman enrolls in a poetry class as she grapples with her faltering memory and her grandson's appalling wrongdoing.
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Cast
- Yoon Jeong-heeYang Mi-ja
- Lee Da-witJong-wook
- Kim Hee-raElder Kang
- Ahn Nae-sangKi-beom's Father
- Kim Yong-taekPoet
- Park Myung-shinHee-jin's Mother
- Jang Hye-jinMr. Kang's Second Daughter-in-Law
- Kim Nam-jinSoo-ok
- Kim Jong-gooPark Sang-tae
- Kim Hye-jungJo Mi-hye
Recommendations
- 100
Village Voice
A perfectly paced and performed character study of a woman raising a child on her own who must contend with a heinous act of violence. - 100
The New York Times
The importance of seeing, seeing the world deeply, is at the heart of this quietly devastating, humanistic work from the South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong. - 100
Entertainment Weekly
Facing a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, the older woman enrolls in a poetry class, desperate to find the words to describe beauty before language fails her. She does even better: She herself becomes a kind of poem about what it means to really see the world. - 91
IndieWire
It may go without saying that Poetry adopts a lyrical tone, but this forms the crux of its appeal. In this case, the title says it all. - 83
The A.V. Club
Whenever all the pieces are in place, though, Lee reverts to the kind of storytelling he does best. - 80
Variety
Calmer and less shattering than his masterly psychodrama "Secret Sunshine" (2007), Poetry is a deceptively gentle tale with a tender ache at its center, as well as a performance from Yun Jung-hee that lingers long in the memory. - 80
Time Out
Yun is quite simply spectacular as a woman who holds steadfastly on to her dignity and empathy, even in the face of unspeakable tragedy. - 75
New York Post
Poetry, which rightfully won the best-screenplay prize at Cannes, never resorts to exploitation. Under Lee's guidence, it is a mature film for mature audiences.
