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The story line is so different from any other Korean movie I have seen. It's usually the older acteresses or actors a usually the grandpas or grandmas in the movies or dramas. But having the older generation as a lead is a breath of fresh air. Even though the older generation having an illnesses are cliche, the way it was done was refeshing as well. Instead of hanging her head down, she stil tries to go on with her life & tries to find who she is before the illness strikes her for good. This story is slow, but I couldn't stop the movie either.
The main actress stand out from anyone else is all I have to say. I liked Ahn Nae Sung's character. But the other characters either didn't really stand out or didn't like their character at all. One character was very creepy! *Cringe* Still thinking about makes me cringe some more. . .
The music was not the best attribute in the movie. I was so intrued by the acting & the story that I couldn't really pay attention to the score.
I wouldn't really re-watch this movie becuase this movie was pretty slow, even though it was good. But there were scenes that I couldn't watch at all. But if I ever re-watch this again, it for the character development of the female lead's character.
Overall, I recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that have a slow pace, but good story. But you should still watch this is you like poetry, melodrama, & the actress.
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1"It's important to see everything around us well"
I have to say, I have not been a great fan of Lee Chang Dong’s work. That changed with Poetry. Despite the difficult subjects, a shred of humanity and dignity survived.Though barely making ends meet while taking care of her sullen grandson, Yang Mi Ja dresses well and is always composed. She works as a caregiver for an older man who has had a stroke. Passing by a notice she sees there is a poetry class being offered. For over 50 years she has harbored a secret desire to write poetry and begins the class. The students are challenged to really look at the world around them, to dive below the surface and discover the beauty hidden in plain sight. Mija’s world is rocked when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But worse than that she’s informed her grandson has a connection to a young girl’s suicide.
Yoon Jeong Hee was mesmerizing as Mija. Always polite and soft spoken, hiding her true emotions, until they spill over in the rain. Mija sees and empathizes with a grieving mother and joins her by grieving the loss of an innocent child, brutalized by cruel boys. The other parents and the school heartlessly only care for burying the truth with the body, for boys’ live and futures must be protected no matter how reprehensible and inhumane their actions. Mija faces the painful reality in her family with a higher vision. A more poignant game of badminton you are likely to never see. Knowing her independent time was on a countdown, Mija looked for what was beautiful, what was true and gave witness to it. In doing that she gave Agnes a voice, recognizing her life, her love, and her loss.
14 August 2025
“Agnes’ Song”
How is it over there?
How lonely is it?
Is it still glowing red at sunset?
Are the birds still singing on the way to the forest?
Can you receive the letter I dared not send?
Can I convey the confession I dared not make?
Will time pass and roses fade?
Now it’s time to say goodbye
Like the wind that lingers and then goes, just like the shadows
To promises that never came
To the love sealed till the end
To the grass kissing my weary ankles
and to the tiny footsteps following me
It’s time to say goodbye
Now as darkness falls
Will a candle be lit again?
Here I pray
Nobody shall cry and for you to know
how deeply I loved you
The long wait in the middle of a hot summer day
An old path resembling my father’s face
Even the lonesome wildflower shyly turning away
How deeply I loved
How my heart fluttered at hearing your faint song
I bless you
Before crossing the black river,
with my soul’s last breath
I am beginning to dream
A bright sunny morning
Again I wake, blinded by the light
and meet you standing by me.
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Yoon Jung-Hee plays Mija, a widow in her sixties, who is raising her teenage grandson in an unnamed city somewhere between Seoul and Busan (that was my impression). If you've read the summary, you know some of the facts that surround Mija's world. But not all. When we first meet Mija, there is something a bit vain and flighty about her, though always interesting. As the film progresses, watching this woman's character grow and unfold in her own way like the flowers she so adores, makes for riveting viewing. In fact, we start to see the poetry in Mija in the same way her teacher directs them to see the apple, to see the world.
The lack of soundtrack adds to the film because the ambient sounds such as the rustle of the wind through the trees, the birds chirping, the river running, become music that surpasses any soundtrack in this particular film (though I was forced to give the "music" a rating-and this is what I meant).
I wish I could say more but it is hard to do so without spoiling, so I just recommend it so very highly. This will stay with me for days and I could definitely see myself re-watching it in a couple years or sooner.
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Poetry at its darkest
This is one of those grey movies that tackle a very serious issue or maybe even several serious issues by looking at them from bystanders point of view. With very low entertainment value but high artistic, depth and I guess emotional value. An in-depth window to the value of the less affluent female population of the world.This is a mans world, a world obsessed with the third leg... A world where that third leg can be used to completely opress someone else ln the name of boys will be boys or in the name of a mans got needs...
Like poetry every word is a symbol in this movie every shot seems to symbolise something, nothing in this was left to chance from the color of the flowers to the direction of the wind.. Though there are a lot of flowers and somewhat colorfull patterns they all seem to be shown though a filter of grey... and the only light that seems to be in sight is the fading memory of our female lead...
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