A POET

Oscar Restrepo is an instantly indelible character, a wonderfully pathetic creature prone to combustible fits of self-pity, mouth-breathing quasi-Napoleon Dynamite blankness, rapid-fire soliloquies, and genuine pathos. Ubeimar Rios’ gloriously rumpled, totally unselfconscious performance anchors this bitter-pill tragicomedy, sneakily one of the year’s funniest movies, that could go toe-to-toe with prime Baumbach. Oscar’s obsession with poetry has brought him no glory in life, and what little praise he received is far in the rearview. As a last resort, he is bent on indulging himself until he achieves notoriety as a tragic figure like his misanthrope idols. But when his family pushes him into an ill-fated substitute teaching gig, he meets a young student with a raw talent for prose and sees a way back into everyone’s good graces. A Poet turns the tried-and-true prodigy-mentor tale on its ear, veering away from sentimentality at every turn. And if you’re worried that a movie about poetry will be a dry affair, think again: with a soulful jazz score, throwback film stock, restless handheld camerawork, and smash cuts galore, A Poet has flash and wit to spare. ~OO