“Poetry” is one of the gentlest movies of the year, yet one of the most devastating. Jeong-hie Yun gives one of the best performances of the year, it’s simply heartbreaking. Her monologue alone in the scene where she confesses her fondest memory in her poetry class should earn her an Oscar nomination, but sadly, AMPAS voters, for some reason, don’t respond well to foreign language performances.

A beautifully shot and rendered film, Poetry encapsulates empathy for the other, the joy and the pain involved in truly seeing, and the continued--and maybe even increased--necessity for poetry in the modern world. Yun Jeong-hee's performance is touching, nuanced, inspiring, and devastating. The film slowly builds to a narrative and emotional crescendo that prompts reflection long after the film ends.

Fantastic watching Jeong-hee Yoon as the lead pondering her rapidly deteriorating existence with subtlety, dignity, and such yearning for meaning. It's always welcome to see a dramatic plot without over-theatrics.

Jeong-hie Yun gives a beautiful performance as an older woman dealing with the onset of Alzheimer's and the situation her daughter's son has brought upon himself and her.The poetry classes and when the film focus's on her exclusively was the highlights of the film for me.The parts that deal with the boy or his problems were not as good.I really wished those parts was left out and the film focused more on the woman.

Beautiful in every sense of the word. After recently seeing Secret Sunshine, this certainly did not disappoint and is actually the better film of the two.

This film feels a bit disjoint, and its lack of focus stymies some of the emotional beats, especially as they relate to the grandson, who the grandmother treats with an appropriately odd mixture of reverence and disdain. I would have liked to see the effects of these actions documented in the film, as opposed to the implication we receive.

Poetry isn't quite in the class of Kurosawa's Stray Dog, but Lee's domestic-social drama certainly evinces some of Kurosawa's... well, poetry.

Some things work. Some don't. It can be frustratingly inconsistent and hard to relate to but I did love that haunting final scene.

Slow-moving, and the poetry motif didn't click with me. Although the themes are different, I couldn't help comparing it to Mother and wishing I was watching that instead.

Poetry's slow-burn, sincere plot allows the quiet cataclysm that swirls around Yun Jeong-hie's Mika to unfold with auspicious, naturalistic clarity. Director Chang-dong emphasises her myriad struggles against deepening tragedies without exploiting them, meaning Poetry most assuredly flows by as if a deep, thoughtful and extensive work of poetic meditation on life and death. This elegiac undertaking may not be a crowning jewel, but its interpretive thoughtfulness makes it almost vital.

"Poetry is another sobering philosophical work by Lee Chang-dong." - Ed Gonzalez

04 haziran 2011 & filmde cocuklarin karistigi tecavuz ve cinayeti unut(tur)maya calisan ebeveynlere inat tek farkindalik gosterecek esas karakterimizin de alzheimer olmasi ne muthis bir ironidir..

Touching story of a lady getting old, trying to learn poetry and meaning in her lonely life.

A moving and exceptionally well-paced film with outstanding acting. The poetry in this film is the level of detail in the inspection of Mija's life and actions. It reminded me of a cross between "Mother" and "Spring, Summer..." Yet again Korean cinema explores new heights, putting the rest of the world to shame.