The body of a dead girl floats quietly along the Han River, drifting mysteriously through the opening scene of Lee Chang-dong’s unforgettable new film. The second chapter of his ongoing exploration of forgiveness, Poetry follows Lee’s acclaimed Secret Sunshine by expanding upon the filmmaker’s dissection of disturbing realities, searching for beauty where it is seldom found. Veteran actor Yun Jung-hee shines in the role of Mija, a beautiful woman in her sixties who moves gracefully through life, contemplating a trivial daily routine that is ill-suited to her refined persona. With elegance and a dash of eccentricity, Mija takes care of her ungrateful grandson, Wook (David Lee), and makes a living by cleaning house for an elderly man who, though paralyzed by a stroke, still responds to her charm with bouts of drug-induced arousal. On a whim, Mija enrolls in a poetry class at the local cultural centre and begins a personal quest to find the perfect words to describe her feelings. However, she’s plagued by the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and struggles with new vocabulary and the challenges of the creative process. When her world is turned upside down by her grandson’s implication in a monstrous crime, it is Mija’s unique and touching poetry that allows her to defy the weight of shame and distance herself from a painful proximity to violence.

 

In this courageous and intelligent melodrama, poetry becomes the inspirational subtext in a multilayered tale. Lee embarks on a subtle analysis of evil and explores the role of creativity as an antidote to squalour and abuse. Cross-pollinating cinematic genres with literary forms, Lee draws from his experience as a novelist to create a lyrical balance between social commentary and poetry in this refined ode to purity and beauty. (Giovanna Fulvi, Toronto International Film Festival)

 

Print Source: Kino Lorber Films

 

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