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IMDbPro

Poetry

Original title: Shi
  • 20102010
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
12K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
16,739
291
Poetry (2010)
A sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.
Play trailer1:54
1 Video
70 Photos
Drama
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
12K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
16,739
291
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • Writer
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • Stars
      • Yun Jeong-hie
      • Lee Da-wit
      • Kim Hee-ra
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • Writer
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • Stars
      • Yun Jeong-hie
      • Lee Da-wit
      • Kim Hee-ra
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 42User reviews
    • 142Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
    • Awards
      • 27 wins & 25 nominations

    Videos1

    Poetry
    Trailer 1:54
    Poetry

    Photos70

    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Lee Chang-dong and Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Lee Chang-dong in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie and Lee Da-wit in Poetry (2010)
    Yun Jeong-hie in Poetry (2010)
    Poetry (2010)
    Poetry (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Yun Jeong-hie
    Yun Jeong-hie
    • Yang Mi-ja
    Lee Da-wit
    Lee Da-wit
    • Jong-wook
    • (as David Lee)
    Kim Hee-ra
    Kim Hee-ra
    • Elder Kang
    Ahn Nae-sang
    Ahn Nae-sang
    • Ki-beom's Father
    Kim Yong-taek
    Kim Yong-taek
    • Poet Kim Yong-taek
    Park Myung-shin
    Park Myung-shin
    • Hee-jin's Mother
    Kim Jong-goo
    Kim Jong-goo
    • Park Sang-tae
    • (as Jong-gu Kim)
    Kim Hye-jung
    Kim Hye-jung
    • Jo Mi-hye
    Min Bok-gi
    Min Bok-gi
    • Soon-jeong's Father
    Jang Hye-jin
    Jang Hye-jin
    • Mr. Kang's second daughter-in-law
    • (as Hyae Jin Chang)
    Kim Ja-yeong
    Kim Ja-yeong
    • Bus woman
    Nam-jin Kim
    • Soo-ok
    Hyeok-soo Kwon
    • Read the poem member
    • Director
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • Writer
      • Lee Chang-dong
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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 Lee Chang-dong 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2010 (2010)

    User reviews42

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Real, revealing, moving, interesting...what else can you ask for?
    Poetry (2010)

    Steady and stealthy, this film proposes to be as lyrical and compact as a poem, but then it keeps going and ends up larger and more impressive than you'd expect. And the acting by leading female actress, the Korean star Jeong-hie Yun, is startling and nuanced, a great performance.

    At the heart of the plot are two plots. The first is the title line—elderly Mija has decided to learn how to write poetry, so she attends a class (filled with younger students). The second is about a sex crime—a gang rape it turns out—by her grandson, who she is raising alone. The two are nearly opposites in so many ways we see how life itself balances the beautiful and ugly, and responsibility and indifference. In a larger way, "Poetry" is about contemporary life in Korea, and the interactions of ordinary people in extreme situations will be revealing to many outside of Korea.

    It's hard to overstate how well this movie pulls off something socially serious and yet makes it all understated and almost matter of fact. There are these several lines of thought that keep going throughout, and that don't quite converge until the very end, which is both tragic (truly) and a bit mysterious. What exactly is the implication of that last scene on the bridge, and the water that shows nothing? It hearkens to the beginning, of course, but we have our main character at hand.

    In that sense, it's a brilliant, almost perfect evocation of contemporary Korea on the most normal, middle class level. Lovely and loving, and cold and brutal. And it shows the glib sexism of the men there, much like everywhere at various times. And how to survive you sometimes have to just proceed. And then, of course, sometimes you do not survive.
    helpful•14
    2
    • secondtake
    • Sep 15, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 11, 2011 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Official sites
      • Official site (France)
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • Korean
    • Also known as
      • Поезія
    • Production companies
      • UniKorea Pictures
      • Pine House Film
      • Diaphana Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ₩1,300,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $356,149
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $18,900
      • Feb 13, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,539,040
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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