Poetry at the Corrie Film Club

On the second Sunday of every month, as every Arran film buff knows, an interesting and probably off-beat film is shown in Corrie and Sannox Village Hall. This month, on Sunday 11th August, the treat in store is Poetry, made in South Korea and described by the Guardian’s often taciturn Peter Bradshaw as ‘inexpressibly gentle and sad’.

The plot is simple yet full of complexity. Mija, a sixty-six-year-old grandmother memorably played by Yoon Yung-hee, retains something of her youthful beauty yet knows her memory is slipping away. She looks after a domineering teenaged grandson whose divorced mother (Mija’s daughter) works and lives away from home. When it is confirmed that Mija has Alzheimer’s, she desperately wants to write a single poem before her grasp of words deserts her entirely, and in this search, joins a poetry group that leads her into a state of constant poetic awareness.

Directed by Lee Chang-dong, the film packs a punch despite its gentleness. Mija’s grandson and his group of feral mates have raped a girl who as a result has committed suicide, and his grandmother, with her failing abilities, does her best to heal those caught up in this terrible situation. The film, though sad, is intensely beautiful and has a strange wisdom.

The showing starts at 8.00pm and admission is free, though contributions to the hall’s running expenses are always welcome.