Orson Welles once said, “A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet,”. While the famous multihyphenate may have been talking about filmmaking in a general sense and not the written language inspiring it, it still applies if you really think about it. If filmmakers who make movies based on poetry don’t handle the source material the way it should be treated, the end result can be a mess.
Anyways, I believe poetry is one of the most loved art forms around the world. However, it can be hard to find movies that are about poetry. Here is a list of movies you should watch if you are a poet or poetry lover.
This article lists 5 movies that feature poems and poets as important parts of the plot. These films will make you want to read more poetry and might even inspire you to try writing your own poems!
Here we go:
Poetry
Poetry is a 2010 South Korean drama film written and directed by Lee Chang-dong. It tells the story of a suburban woman in her 60s who begins to develop an interest in poetry while struggling with Alzheimer’s disease and her irresponsible grandson. Yoon Jeong-hee stars in the leading role, which was her first role in a film since 1994. The film was selected for the main competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award.
Pyasa
“Yeh duniya jahaan aadmi kuch nahi hai, wafa kuch nahi, dosti kuch nahi hai. Yahaan pyaar ki qadr hi kuch nahi hai, yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai.”
Here is a verse by Sahir Ludhianvi which holds the essence of Guru Dutt’s 1957 film Pyaasa. The journey of a poet who once believed that his art could make the world a better place finds himself successful, albeit ‘posthumously’, and realizes how empty the applause is. He understands that it isn’t worth living in a materialistic world where relationships are hollow and heartache a constant.
Paterson
Paterson is a 2016 drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film stars Adam Driver as a bus driver and poet named Paterson, and Golshifteh Farahani as his wife, who dreams of being a country music star and opening a cupcake business.
Life is made of routines. Everyday we wake up towards the same places, meeting the same people. If you want drama and action, then this movies isn’t fit for you. This is a movie about routines, but more than that: a movie about how we can find beauty in the routines. Paterson, a bus driver, does the same everyday in a village that never leaves a sleepy, foggy state. But he faces each day with joy, together with his ally: the love for poetry. Watch the movie if you like to see normal people, doing normal things but still, finding beauty in the small things.
Dead Poet’s Society
Maverick teacher John Keating uses poetry to embolden his boarding school students to new heights of self-expression.
The canonical poet’s film, Dead Poet’s Society stars Robin Williams, who is an Engish teacher that uses not-so-traditional methods of teaching poetry at a boys’ school.
Facing judgment and hostility from the rest of the academic community, the underlying message is not only of love for poetry but for individuality, bravery, resistance, and the concept of carpe diem (to seize the day).
Bioscope
Bioscope is an interesting project where four different directors have teamed up to make a single film. The film has four independent stories woven around four poems and stories. Ravi Jadhav’s Mitra is based on a poem by Sandip Khare. Ahire’s Dil_E-Nadan is based on a gajhal by Mirza Galib.
Ek Hota Kaau is directed by Viju Mane and based a poem by Saumitra. Girish Mohite’s Bail is based on a folk poet Loknath Yashwant. Ek Hota Kaau and Mitra were selected as short films in the prestigious “Indian Panoram 2014”. Mitra has also won National Award in the short films category and has been shown in various international film festivals.
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