A POET

(director/writer: Simon Mesa Soto; cinematographer: Juan Sarmiento G.; editor: Ricardo Saraiva; music: Matti Bye, Gustav Daviddsson, Johanna Ekholm, Pelle Westlin; cast: Guillermo Cardona (Efrain), Alisson Correa (Daniela), Humberto Restrepo (Alonso), Ubeimar Rios (Oscar Restrepo), Rebecca Andrade (Yurlady), Margarita Soto (Teresita); Runtime: 122; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Simon Mesa Soto, Juan Sarmiento G.; Film i Vast/Luxbox; 2025-Colombia/Germany/Sweden-in Spanish with English subtitles)

“About failing to lead a creative life though trying.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
The film by Colombian director/writer Simon Mesa Soto (“Amparo”) is a melancholy one about failing to lead a creative life though trying.

The story is set in Medellín. It follows the unsuccessful published poet Oscar Restrepo (Ubeimar Rios, a teacher), in his forties, unemployed, divorced and living with his elderly mother (Magarito Soto) and his siblings. His teenage daughter Daniella (Alisson Correa) lives with mom and considers dad a loser.

Oscar’s pompous and more successful poet friend Efrain (Guillermo Cardona) uses his pull to get Oscar a reading and a TV spot on a talk show.

Oscar lands a teaching job in high school and discovers a poor female student, Yurlady (Rebecca Andrade), who has a gift for writing poetry and introduces her to the poetry community. She writes light things the poetry readers don’t want, as they want the poets to write about serious social issue topics.

Rios and Andrade give masterful performances in a dramedy that understands the business of selling poetry and the wants of the readers. The poetry film is not about living the life of a poet but in writing the poems, even if that isn’t exciting.

It played at the Cannes Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 6/29/2026  GRADE: A
dennisschwartzreviews.com