Poetry
Kino International | Release Date: February 11, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
87
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMay 5, 2011
Daring in the ways only quiet, unhurried but finally haunting films have the courage to be. A character study of remarkable subtlety joined to a carefully worked-out plot that fearlessly explores big issues like beauty, truth and mortality, it marks the further emergence of Korean writer-director Lee Chang-dong. Read full review
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 8, 2011
Beauty comes to us unexpectedly. That's the message of Poetry, a Korean movie about an aging housemaid that turns out to be one of the best films of the year. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonApr 7, 2011
A heartrending film, Lee's Poetry is indeed a work of art. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMar 3, 2011
This is a movie whose power comes from the alignment both of Mija's discovery with ours and of a tremendous writer and director with his star. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 3, 2011
Yun's performance is remarkable. The journey Mija takes is painful and hard and - for us, watching - sublime. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 16, 2011
Facing a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, the older woman enrolls in a poetry class, desperate to find the words to describe beauty before language fails her. She does even better: She herself becomes a kind of poem about what it means to really see the world. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisFeb 10, 2011
The importance of seeing, seeing the world deeply, is at the heart of this quietly devastating, humanistic work from the South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong. Read full review
100
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonFeb 8, 2011
A perfectly paced and performed character study of a woman raising a child on her own who must contend with a heinous act of violence. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 9, 2011
It may go without saying that Poetry adopts a lyrical tone, but this forms the crux of its appeal. In this case, the title says it all. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 19, 2011
Yun's performance is genuinely beautiful, a haunting expression of life, of its disappointments and its possibilities, rendered in a way that befits the title. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJan 20, 2020
Yun’s portrayal of Mija has a novelistic richness to it, acutely observed in its details (the way she carries her purse), yet expansive enough to encompass the character’s long psychological journey. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFeb 25, 2011
Lee doesn't make exploitation films, and he doesn't find conventional answers. He is puzzled by the mysteries of inexplicable behavior. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayFeb 10, 2011
Whenever all the pieces are in place, though, Lee reverts to the kind of storytelling he does best. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonDavid JenkinsDec 14, 2016
True to the spirit of the title, writer-director Lee organises the sprawling mess of Mija’s personal life with the control and grace of a master, each digression and seemingly arbitrary encounter all building upon his elderly protagonist’s spiralling sense of distress. Read full review
80
EmpireAnna SmithNov 8, 2016
Well-crafted and compelling, if a little inaccessible to western audiences... Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 8, 2016
It is a picture of something inexpressibly gentle and sad, something heartbreaking and absolutely normal, but something stirred up by a violent, alien incursion. Something lands with an almighty splash in this calm millpond of melancholy regret. Read full review
80
Total FilmCarmen GrayNov 8, 2016
Devoid of the ultra-violence so often associated with Korean cinema, Poetry is quiet and unhurried, making its portrait of social bleakness all the more impactful. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesFeb 25, 2011
The premise of this South Korean import may call to mind that of another, Bong Joon-ho's recent suspense film "Mother," but Poetry is another bird entirely: true to the title, writer-director Lee Chang-dong is principally concerned with rendering emotions that seem inexpressible. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 9, 2011
Yun is quite simply spectacular as a woman who holds steadfastly on to her dignity and empathy, even in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangFeb 7, 2011
Calmer and less shattering than his masterly psychodrama "Secret Sunshine" (2007), Poetry is a deceptively gentle tale with a tender ache at its center, as well as a performance from Yun Jung-hee that lingers long in the memory. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceySep 29, 2011
Yun, a veteran Korean actress, gives a splendidly layered performance. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. MusettoFeb 11, 2011
Poetry, which rightfully won the best-screenplay prize at Cannes, never resorts to exploitation. Under Lee's guidence, it is a mature film for mature audiences. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 7, 2011
It comes together neatly, perhaps too neatly to be … poetry. But it's not prosaic, either. It has a lucid grace. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMaggie LeeFeb 7, 2011
Not everyone will wax lyrical about this enigmatic and troubling film, which is also Chan-dong's most slow-moving one. But those with an eye for reading between the lines can find layers of meaning. Read full review
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