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A Poet

Play trailer 1:34 Poster for A Poet In Theaters Jan 30, 2026 2h 3m Drama Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 17 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
Middle-aged and erratic, Oscar is a failed writer who has given up on life. Unemployed and living with family, he wanders the streets of Medellín in a drunken stupor, lamenting the state of literature in his home country, where he has succumbed to the cliché of the tortured artist. However, the opportunity to mentor a young student offers a chance at redemption, if he doesn't screw it up first. In a performance marked by darkly comic pathos, first-time actor Ubeimar Rios stars in Simón Mesa Soto's Un Certain Regard Jury Prize-winner A Poet, a raw and riotous farce about how good deeds are often met with the universe's idea of cruel and unusually poetic punishment.
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Critics Reviews

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Ben Croll IndieWire Art-world send-up explores the many fears and frustrations the acclaimed director felt in the decade since making... Leidi, channeling them into a darkly-funny burlesque that speaks of verse while playing like a Dan Clowes comic brought to manic life. Rated: B+ May 29, 2025 Full Review Namrata Joshi The New Indian Express Ultimately, Un Poeta is a universal treatise on the world of arts and letters, in that it’s about the contradictions inherent in creativity in general in any corner of the world—the economic strife that runs parallel to artistic achievements. May 29, 2025 Full Review Murtada Elfadl Variety [The film's] tone shifts from absurdist to serious to satirical and back again. This odd mix should not work, but Soto pulls it off with a sure hand and precisely exacting storytelling. May 26, 2025 Full Review Frank J. Avella The Contending The film tends to meander in the final third but is still a rewarding sit mostly because of first-time actor and star Ubeimar Rios. He’s a comedic natural. Rated: B- Nov 22, 2025 Full Review Dionar Hidalgo Algo Más Que Cine A brutally funny and deeply human portrait of failed ambition and artistic hypocrisy. Un Poeta turns despair into poetry, capturing the contradictions of Latin America with wit, empathy, and a sharp cinematic pulse. Rated: 8/10 Nov 1, 2025 Full Review Revna Altiok MovieJawn Although common in cinema, alcoholism is notoriously difficult to portray without slipping into melodrama or stereotype. In A Poet (2025), Simón Mesa Soto manages to avoid both traps. Oct 19, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Movie Info

Synopsis Middle-aged and erratic, Oscar is a failed writer who has given up on life. Unemployed and living with family, he wanders the streets of Medellín in a drunken stupor, lamenting the state of literature in his home country, where he has succumbed to the cliché of the tortured artist. However, the opportunity to mentor a young student offers a chance at redemption, if he doesn't screw it up first. In a performance marked by darkly comic pathos, first-time actor Ubeimar Rios stars in Simón Mesa Soto's Un Certain Regard Jury Prize-winner A Poet, a raw and riotous farce about how good deeds are often met with the universe's idea of cruel and unusually poetic punishment.
Director
Simón Mesa Soto
Producer
Simón Mesa Soto, Juan Sarmiento G., Manuel Ruiz Montealegre
Screenwriter
Simón Mesa Soto
Distributor
1-2 Special
Production Co
Ocúltimo, Medio de Contención Producciones
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 30, 2026, Limited
Runtime
2h 3m