The critically acclaimed film “Poetry” traces the story of a conflicted woman in her 60s who rediscovers happiness and the beauty of life while writing poetry but faces a harsh reality about her teenage grandson and as well as her own health.

A 66-year-old woman named Mi-ja leads a hard life raising her teenage grandson in place of her divorced daughter in a small rural town. She tries hard to make ends meet by working as a housemaid and personal nurse. Her life is far from easy, especially when dealing with her problematic grandson who shuts himself up in his room to listen to loud music. The grandma loves the boy very much but is unable to understand him. Yet, the old lady is still innocent and curious like a little girl. One day, she enrolls in a poetry-writing class. While learning how to compose poems, she becomes completely absorbed in the world of poetry and begins to explore the beauty of everything around her, like tree leaves blowing in the wind and an apricot that has fallen from a tree. The heroine hopes that poetry will help her find the true meaning in life.

Unfortunately, what awaits her is anything but beautiful or hopeful. On top of struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, she learns that her grandson involved in a gang rape of a girl who later killed herself. Now she is confronted with the dark side of life—guilt, fear and the loss of innocence.

With a stark, harsh contrast between a terrible crime and beautiful verse, the film follows the inner drama of an elderly woman who deals with an unexpected family tragedy through the power of poetry. A poet in the movie says poetry is dead now. But the pessimistic declaration itself represents a certain paradox that poetry can survive as long as people try to live honestly and properly even at the cost of death. The movie starts with a scene of a peaceful river glittering with the sunlight and the body of a dead girl floating on the river tranquilly. The Korean title of the movie “Poetry” then appears on the screen. The paradoxical opening scene foreshadows what the movie will portray—the ugly side of life and the painful yet beautiful endeavors to overcome it.

‘Poetry” is the fifth feature of renowned director Lee Chang-dong, a novelist-turned-director and the nation’s former culture minister. The film also created a lot of buzz about its lead actress Yun Jung-hee, one of the most popular actresses in the 1960s. Making a comeback after 16 years of absence in the Korean movie scene, the veteran actress left a rare legacy of an elderly actress performing the heroine role, which is certainly a cinematic challenge for the local film industry. The movie received a number of prizes both at local and international film festivals, including the award for Best Screenplay at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

Director Lee and actress Yun both said that they hoped the film would inspire viewers to discover something through poetry, just as heroine’s longing for poetry kept her dreaming and helped her find answers in life. Indeed, the profound story provides the audiences a chance to think about beautiful things that are easily forgotten.