Poetry (film)

2010 South Korean drama film

Poetry

Theatrical release poster

Hangul|

Hanja|

RR| Si
MR| Si
Directed by| Lee Chang-dong
Written by| Lee Chang-dong
Produced by| Lee Joon-dong
Starring| Yoon Jeong-hee
Cinematography| Kim Hyun-seok
Edited by| Kim Hyeon

Production
companies

Pine House Film
UniKorea Pictures
Diaphana Films
Finecut

Distributed by| Next Entertainment World (South Korea)
Diaphana Distribution (France)

Release dates

* 13 May 2010 (2010-05-13) (South Korea)
* 25 August 2010 (2010-08-25) (France)

Running time

| 139 minutes
Countries| South Korea
France
Language| Korean
Budget| US$1,136,413
(₩1.3 billion)
Box office| US$2.2 million[1]

Poetry (Korean: 시; RR: Si) is a 2010 South Korean-French drama film written and directed by Lee Chang-dong.[2] It tells the story of a suburban woman in her 60s who begins to develop an interest in poetry while struggling with Alzheimer's disease and her irresponsible grandson. Yoon Jeong-hee appears in the leading role, which was her first role in a film since 1994. The film was selected for the main competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award. Other accolades include the Grand Bell Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress, the Blue Dragon Film Awards for Best Actress, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Achievement in Directing and Best Performance by an Actress.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

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The movie opens on a river scene with children playing on the bank. The body of a girl in a school uniform floats by.

Yang Mi-ja (Yoon Jeong-hee), a 66-year-old grandmother, consults a doctor at a hospital who is concerned about her forgetfulness, and refers her to a specialist. As she leaves the hospital she sees a woman crazy with grief because her 16-year-old daughter has drowned.

Though Mi-ja lives on government welfare, she has a small job taking care of a well-to-do elderly man who has had a stroke. At home, she cares for her ill-mannered 16-year-old grandson, Jong-wook (Lee David), whose divorced mother lives in Busan. When Mi-ja asks Jong-wook about the girl from his class who drowned, Jong-wook says he didn't know her.

When Mi-ja notices a poster advertising a poetry class at a local community center, she decides to enroll. The course assignment is to write one poem by the end of the month-long course. At the suggestion of her teacher, she begins writing notes about the things she sees, especially flowers.

Jong-wook frequently leaves home at odd hours to socialize with five other boys from school. One night, he invites all of them over without notifying Mi-ja, who nevertheless tries to be a gracious host, offering them a snack before they disappear into Jong-wook's bedroom. Later, one of the boys' fathers insists that Mi-ja join him and the other boys' fathers for a meeting. She is told that the group of boys have repeatedly raped a girl, Agnes, over the past six months, before she jumped off a bridge into a river and drowned. Her diary was discovered, though only four members of the school's faculty were aware of the situation. The fathers fear retribution for their boys, and the school fears a scandal that will tarnish its reputation. To avert a full police investigation, the parents of the boys offer to pay a settlement of 30 million won to the widowed mother, a poor farmer. Mi-ja, who cannot afford her 5 million won portion of the payment, is pressured to ask her daughter (Jong-wook's mother) for the money. Though Mi-ja occasionally speaks to her daughter on the phone, she does not mention the situation. When Mi-ja is diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease, she again neglects to tell anyone. She attempts to confront Jong-wook about his actions, but he simply ignores her.

Mi-ja begins attending a local weekly poetry reading. A brash man frequently reads beautiful poetry at these readings, but follows them with crude sexual jokes that offend Mi-ja. Another amateur poet explains to Mi-ja that the man is a policeman with a good heart, and was recently reassigned from Seoul after exposing corruption within its police force.

Mi-ja temporarily quits her job caring for the elderly stroke victim after he makes a desperate sexual advance toward her. She later returns after a journey to the bridge where Agnes jumps, and her hat flies off into the water. She walks down to the riverbank and sits, writing poetry until it begins raining. Dripping wet, she returns to the elderly man, agreeing to have sex with him. When she does, she appears emotionless.

Mi-ja is walking home and, on the way, is greeted by a reporter. He asks her questions about how the money offer is going, and if the mother is not willing to accept. Mi-ja casually confirms that, but soon realizes that she may be telling him too much. As she attempts to leave, the reporter becomes aggressive and tries to make her stay to answer more questions. She hurries away, making a phone call.

In another meeting with the fathers, Mi-ja mentions what she told the reporter. The fathers are disappointed, but decide that it is not that consequential. Mi-ja is told to travel to the countryside to convince Agnes' mother to accept the settlement.

One of the fathers drives her to the countryside. Initially not finding Agnes' mother at home, Mi-ja eventually comes across her working in the field. Mi-ja begins raving about how beautiful the weather, flowers, trees, and fruit are, forgetting about the task at hand. The two have a pleasant exchange before Mi-ja turns and begins to walk away. Finally, she remembers that she was meant to confront the woman about the settlement, but is too embarrassed and continues to leave.

Mi-ja attends another poetry reading evening. Afterwards, she sits crouched outside, crying. The policeman who was at the reading comes out for a smoke, and asks Mi-ja why she is crying. She doesn't answer right away, so he stays crouched beside her. The scene ends there. When she returns home, she takes out from her purse the picture of Agnes that she took from the memorial service, and places it on the table for her grandson to see the next morning.

A few days later, Mi-ja returns to the father to admit that she still cannot pay her portion of the settlement. Though annoyed that she still hasn't contributed her share, the fathers are overjoyed that Agnes' mother has agreed to settle, despite Mi-ja's failure to previously ask her to.

Mi-ja asks the elderly man for the money she needs, refusing to tell him what it is for. Wondering if this is Mi-ja's attempt at blackmail, he pays her. Once the settlement has been paid to Agnes' mother, Mi-ja phones her daughter to come home, and insists that Jong-wook shower and cut his nails. That night, the crude policeman from the weekly poetry readings appears with his partner to take Jong-wook away. Mi-ja does not protest.

The film concludes with Mi-ja's poetry teacher discovering a bouquet on the class podium with her poem, "Agnes's Song", but Mi-ja herself is not present. Her daughter returns to an empty home, and calls Mi-ja's phone, but receives no answer. The teacher begins to read Mi-ja's poem to the class. Mi-ja speaks in voiceover, though the voice of Agnes herself takes over midway through, following Agnes from the science lab, where she was raped, to the bus, to the bridge where she is to jump. Agnes turns to the camera, half-smiling, leaving Mi-ja's fate on an ambiguous note.

## Cast

[edit]

* Yoon Jeong-hee as Yang Mi-ja
* Lee David as Park Jong-wook
* Kim Hee-ra as Mr. Kang
* Ahn Nae-sang as Ki-beom's father
* Kim Yong-taek as Kim Yong-taek
* Park Myeong-sin as Hee-jin's mother
* Min Bok-gi as Sun-chang's father
* Kim Hye-jung as Jo Mi-hye
* Kim Hye-jung as Sick Elderly

## Production

[edit]

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 to 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."[4]

Lee wrote the lead character specifically for Yoon Jeong-hee, a major star of Korean cinema from the 1960s and 1970s. Yoon later expressed satisfaction with how the role differed from what she typically played in the past: "I've always had the desire to show people different aspects of my acting and (Lee) provided me with every opportunity to do just that."[5] Before Poetry, the last film Yoon appeared in was Manmubang ("Two Flags") from 1994.[6] Production was led by Pine House Film, founded in 2005 by the director, with co-production support from UniKorea Culture & Art Investment.[7]

Filming started on August 25, 2009 and ended three months later in Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province.[8] Lee was initially worried that Yoon's long experience might have bound her to an outdated acting style, but was very pleased with her attitude, saying, "She performed her scenes with a willingness to discuss and this is difficult to find even in younger actors."[5]

## Release

[edit]

On May 13, 2010, N.E.W. released Poetry in 194 South Korean theaters with a gross revenue corresponding to around US$258,000 during the first weekend.[9] As of August 1, 2010, Box Office Mojo reported a total revenue of US$1,301,057 in the film's domestic market.[10] The film sold 220,693 tickets nationwide in South Korea.[11]

The international premiere took place at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where Poetry was screened on May 19 as part of the main competition.[12]

The Korean DVD was released on October 23, 2010 and includes English subtitles.[13] The film was distributed theatrically in the United States by Kino International.[14]

It was screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival as part of 'Special screening' on 5 October 2023.[15]

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical response

[edit]

As of May 15, 2025, the film has a 100% approval rating from critics with 71 reviews on film review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, with a weighted average of 8.64/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Poetry is an absorbing, poignant drama because it offers no easy answers to its complex central conflict."[16] At Metacritic, based on 23 critical reviews, the film had a score of 87 out of 100, categorizing it as having received "universal acclaim".[17] "Given the abundant potential for missteps into sappiness with this sort of premise," Justin Chang wrote in Variety, "what's notable here is the lack of sentimentality in Lee's approach. At no point does Poetry devolve into a terminal-illness melodrama or a tale of intergenerational bonding." Chang continued by noting how Lee's background as a novelist sometimes shows through, and that "[t]here are longueurs here... that could be trimmed, though overall this absorbing film feels considerably shorter than its 139 minutes."[18] It was included in CNN's list of top ten best movies of 2011,[19] and Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips named Poetry his favorite film of 2011.[20][21] In 2020, The Guardian ranked it number 4 among the classics of modern South Korean Cinema.[22]

### Accolades

[edit]

Lee won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival.[23] At the 47th Grand Bell Awards, Poetry won the prizes for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.[24] The film received the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards for Best Picture and Best Screenplay.[25] The jury of the 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards decided to exclude Poetry from the selection, since Lee had announced that he would boycott the ceremony. Still, they nominated Yoon for Best Actress as they thought the director's decision should not affect the cast.[26] The award was eventually shared by Yoon and Soo Ae, for her performance in Midnight FM.[27] At the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Lee received the award for Best Achievement in Directing and Yoon for Best Performance by an Actress; the film was also nominated in the categories Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay.[28][29] It was also nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics.

In 2011, Poetry was nominated as Best Film at the 5th Asian Film Awards, where Lee won Best Director and Best Screenplay.[30] It also received the Le Regard d'Or ("Golden Gaze") Grand Prix and FIPRESCI Award at the Fribourg International Film Festival.[31][32] After France honored Yoon as an Officier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres ("Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters),[33][34] she was named Best Actress at the Cinemanila International Film Festival.[35] Yoon also won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for her performance, marking the second consecutive year a Korean actress won the award after Kim Hye-ja won for Mother in 2010.[36][37][38]

Award  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result

|
|
|

Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Best Screenplay | Won
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention  | Won
Grand Bell Awards | Best Film  | Poetry | Won
Best Director  | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Won
Best Supporting Actor  | Kim Hee-ra | Won
Best Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Cinematography  | Kim Hyun-seok  | Nominated
Best Costume Design  | Lee Choong-yeon  | Nominated
Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Won
Korean Film Awards | Best Film  | Poetry | Won
Best Director  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Nominated
Best New Actor  | Lee David | Nominated
Best Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Editing  | Kim Hyeon  | Nominated
Best Sound  | Lee Seung-chul  | Nominated
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Film  | Poetry | Won
Best Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Buil Film Awards | Best Film  | Poetry | Won
Best Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Women in Film Korea Festival  | Woman in Film of the Year  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Won
Busan Film Critics Awards | Top Films of the Year  | Poetry | Won
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Feature Film | Nominated
Achievement in Directing | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Performance by an Actress | Yoon Jeong-hee | Won
Best Screenplay | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Philadelphia Film Festival | Masters of Cinema  | Won
Asian Film Awards | Best Film | Poetry | Nominated
Best Director | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Screenplay  | Won
Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film  | Poetry | Nominated
Best Director  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Nominated
Best Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Foreign Language Film | Poetry | Nominated
Cinemanila International Film Festival | Lino Brocka Award  | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Won
CPH PIX | Politiken's Audience Award  | Lee Chang-dong | Nominated
Fribourg International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Prize | Won
Grand Prix  | Won
KOFRA Film Awards  | Best Film  | Poetry | Won
IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | 4th place
Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Won
Village Voice Film Poll | Best Actress  | 4th place
Chlotrudis Awards | Best Movie  | Poetry | Nominated
Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Nominated
Best Original Screenplay  | Lee Chang-dong | Won
Gold Derby Awards  | Foreign Language Film  | Poetry | Nominated
International Cinephile Society | Best Actress  | Yoon Jeong-hee | Nominated
Best Film Not in the English Language  | Poetry | Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle | Foreign Language Film of the Year | Nominated
National Society of Film Critics | Best Actress | Yoon Jeong-hee | Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film  | Poetry | Nominated

## See also

[edit]

* List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Poetry (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
2. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (20 April 2010). "Lee Chang-dong hopes Poetry will instill dreams". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
3. ^ "APSA Nominees & Winners".
4. ^ Park, Soo-mee (15 May 2010). "Q&A: Lee Chang-dong". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
5. ^ a b Song, Woong-ki (14 April 2010). "Sixties era cinema icon returns to the big screen". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
6. ^ Kim, Yeon-ji (14 May 2010). "Leading lady back in the limelight". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
7. ^ "Poetry \- Press Kit (English)" (PDF). Fine Cut. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
8. ^ Chung, Ah-young (28 August 2009). "Actress Yoon Returns to Screen After 15 Yrs". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
9. ^ Han, Sunhee (17 May 2010). "Cannes' Housemaid cleans up in Korea". Variety. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
10. ^ "South Korea Box Office, July 30–August 1, 2010". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
11. ^ "Theatrical Releases in 2010: Box-Office Admission Results". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
12. ^ "The Screenings Guide" (PDF). Festival-cannes.com. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
13. ^ "Poetry (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)". YesAsia. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
14. ^ Stewart, Andrew (26 May 2010). "Kino International lines up Poetry". Variety. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
15. ^ Patrick Frater (October 4, 2023). "'Because I Hate Korea' Gets Busan Film Festival Off to Reflective Start After Turbulent Year". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
16. ^ "Poetry". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
17. ^ "Poetry". Metacritic. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
18. ^ Chang, Justin (19 May 2010). "Poetry Review". Variety. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
19. ^ Charity, Tom (30 December 2011). "The best, worst movies of 2011". CNN. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
20. ^ Phillips, Michael (24 February 2011). "The language to convey an unspeakable reality". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
21. ^ "Top 10 films of 2011". Chicago Tribune. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
22. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (13 February 2020). "Classics of modern South Korean cinema – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
23. ^ Chang, Justin (2010-05-23). "Uncle Boonmee wins Palme d'Or". Variety. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
24. ^ Park, Soo-mee (13 October 2010). "Poetry Rings Korea's Grand Bell with Multiple Wins". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
25. ^ Park, Soo-mee (23 October 2010). "Poetry Wins Korean Critics' Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
26. ^ Park, Soo-mee (10 November 2010). "Korea's Blue Dragon Award Nominees Announced". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
27. ^ Song, Woong-ki (28 November 2010). "Satirical thriller Sworn Enemy honored". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
28. ^ Chai, Paul (2 December 2010). "Aftershock wins Asia Pacific award". Variety. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
29. ^ Bulbeck, Pip (18 October 2010). "China's Aftershock Leads APSA Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
30. ^ "UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES Wins Best Film at the 5th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong". Asian Film Awards. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
31. ^ Blaney, Martin (28 March 2011). "Poetry wins Grand Prix in Fribourg, The Fatherless bags prizes at Graz's Diagonale". Screen International. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
32. ^ Oxenbridge, David (25 March 2011). "Poetry wins again at Fribourg". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
33. ^ "Actress Yoon to receive top French culture honor". The Korea Times. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
34. ^ Oh, Kyu-wook (6 April 2011). "Actress Yoon receives French cultural order". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
35. ^ Kim, Jessica (21 November 2011). "Poetry Yoon Jeong-hee wins Filipino film fest best actress". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
36. ^ Thompson, Anne (11 December 2011). "Los Angeles Film Critics Make Surprise Best Actress Pick, Poetry's Yun Jung-Hee, Actor Fassbender, Director Malick, Picture The Descendants". IndieWire. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
37. ^ "YUN Jung-hee wins LA Film Critics Award". Korean Film Council. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
38. ^ "Poetry Star Yun Jung-hee Named Best Actress by L.A. Film Critics". The Chosun Ilbo. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.

## External links

[edit]

* Poetry official North American website at Kino International
* Poetry at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
* Poetry at IMDb
* Poetry at HanCinema
* Poetry at Rotten Tomatoes
* Poetry at Metacritic

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Lee Chang-dong

* Green Fish (1997)
* Peppermint Candy (1999)
* Oasis (2002)
* Secret Sunshine (2007)
* Poetry (2010)
* Burning (2018)
* Heartbeat (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Buil Film Awards for Best Film

Awards|

* Night and Day (2008)
* Mother (2009)
* Poetry (2010)
* The Front Line (2011)
* A Muse (2012)
* Snowpiercer (2013)
* The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
* The Shameless (2015)
* Veteran (2016)
* A Taxi Driver (2017)
* The Spy Gone North (2018)
* Parasite (2019)
* House of Hummingbird (2020)
* Escape from Mogadishu (2021)
* Decision to Leave (2022)
* Concrete Utopia (2023)
* Revolver (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Grand Bell Award for Best Film

1960s|

* Prince Yeonsan (1962)
* The Memorial Gate for Virtuous Women (1963)
* Bloodline (1964)
* Deaf Sam-yong (1965)
* The Sea Village (1966)
* Coming Back (1967)
* Prince Daewon (1968)

1970s|

* Patriotic Martyr An Jung-gun (1972)
* The General in Red Robes (1973)
* The Land (1974)
* Flame (1975)
* Mother (1976)
* Diary of Korean-Japanese War (1977)
* Police Story (1978)
* The Hidden Hero (1979)

1980s|

* Son of Man (1980)
* Invited People (1981)
* Come Unto Down (1982)
* Mulleya Mulleya (1983)
* Adultery Tree (1984)
* Mother (1985)
* Pillar of Mist (1986)
* Diary of King Yeonsan (1987)
* Come Come Come Upward (1989)

1990s|

* All That Falls Has Wings (1990)
* Passion Portrait (1991)
* Fly High Run Far (1992)
* Seopyeonje (1993)
* The Story of Two Women (1994)
* The Eternal Empire (1995)
* Henequen (1996)
* The Contact (1997)
* Spring in My Hometown (1999)

2000s|

* Peppermint Candy (2000)
* Joint Security Area (2001)
* The Way Home (2002)
* Memories of Murder (2003)
* Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2004)
* Marathon (2005)
* The King and the Clown (2006)
* Family Ties (2007)
* The Chaser (2008)
* The Divine Weapon (2009)

2010s|

* Poetry (2010)
* The Front Line (2011)
* Masquerade (2012)
* The Face Reader (2013)
* The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
* Ode to My Father (2015)
* Inside Men (2016)
* A Taxi Driver (2017)
* Burning (2018)
* Parasite (2019)

2020s|

* N/A (2020)
* N/A (2021)
* Decision to Leave (2022)
* Concrete Utopia (2023)

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