130. Korean filmmaker Chang-dong Lee’s “Shi” (Poetry) (2010): Learning to look at apples anew
G ood Korean cinema often involves very little verbal talk. The visuals often do the talking, which is not common for movies made in most parts of the world. Chang-dong Lee’s Poetry is one such example where body language is more eloquent than the spoken word—unusual indeed for a film ironically called Poetry , a literary form that survives on words. Early in the film, the viewer gets the feel that the tale has much to do with dementia. As the film progresses, the film shifts to examining tenuous human relationships. Later in the film, the subject shifts gears again to focus on lack of communication between sexes and generations. Strangely the film suggests that clumsy attempts by dilettantes at poetry writing could serve as a fulcrum to launch proactive communication between two individuals who would otherwise have remained insulated in their own shells. A Korean teacher of poetry induces his motley group of adult students to write poetry by asking...