The grannies from Chilgok memorized the multiplication table in Japanese and lived their entire lives illiterate in Korean. This was because in 1937, the Japanese Governor-General of Korea banned the usage and education of the Korean language in all schools. These grannies from Chilgok had given everything for their children's education despite the backbreaking burden and workload. Then one day a Korean school opened in their village and sparked a fire in their hearts. As they learned the Korean alphabet, they became literary ladies who see poetry in everything in the world. "Poems here. Poems there. Poems are all over the place."
The best part of this film is, it’s unexpected. This documentary tracks a group of unlikely people in a very peculiar and undocumented situation. It brings to surface conflict and displacement brought on by the 1930s and unearths a very unique struggle, a never-before-seen spectacle. It’s completely different, its characters are idiosyncratic, and I don’t think this film could be compared to anything else. For someone who has a fear of growing old, it's rewarding to be reminded that age is but a number, and we are only as limited as we think we are.
- Lily Meek
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https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-granny-poetry-club-growing-old-friendship-learning-and-poetry