Poetry(2010)Dir:Chang-dong Lee
Country: Korea
Three years after Secret Sunshine, acclaimed director Lee Chang Dong made a splash at the Cannes Festival again in 2010 with his Poetry winning Best Screenplay. Lee wrote the bittersweet story with veteran actress Yoon Jeong Hee in mind for the gentle role of an inquisitive grandmother who seeks solace through writing. One of Korea's most famous and prolific actresses during the late sixties and seventies, Yoon Jeong Hee came out of retirement to star in Poetry, her first film in 15 years. Also co-starring Ahn Nae Sang (Fate), seventies action star Kim Hee Ra, and poet Kim Yong Taek, Poetry quietly writes the hope, tragedy, vulnerability, and tenacity of life on screen. Grandmother Mi Ja (Yoon Jeong Hee) works part-time as a caretaker, and struggles to raise a teen grandson (David Lee, Paradise Murdered) by herself. Despite her tough situation, she speaks softly, dresses fashionably, and approaches the world with child-like curiosity. Enrolling in a poetry class, she endeavors to capture life in verse form, but her simple dream of completing a poem is stalled by the early signs of Alzheimer's disease and the heavy financial and emotional burden of her grandson's shocking wrongdoing.
