Desertman84
The Poet is a drama film starring Colm Feore, Roy Scheider, Kim Coates and Daryl Hannah. It was written by Jack Crystal and directed by Damian Lee. It was released in the United States as Hearts of War.At the dawn of World War II, a rabbi's daughter and a disenchanted German soldier fall in love and are separated by the war. They struggle on a perilous journey to find one another.A young German officer and the daughter of a Rabbi find their blooming relationship threatened by the onset of World War II in director Damian Lee's emotional war romance. The setting is German occupied Poland, and Europe is finally feeling the full devastation of Hitler's might. German Officer Oskar and his Jewish girlfriend Rachel are deeply in love, but tragically torn apart by the violent village massacres that spread like a plague across the land. Convinced that she will never be reunited with her true love, expectant mother Rachel reluctantly marries respectable Jewish man Bernard, who longs to earn her love by raising her child as his own. Later, when Rachel and Oskar unexpectedly cross paths amidst the violence of the Russian front line, a sudden tragedy prompts one man to make the ultimate sacrifice.This account of the World War II star-crossed love between a rabbi's daughter and a war-hating officer wants very much to be taken seriously. Unfortunately,this proves impossible, since the script, casting and wartime atmosphere play as pure make-believe.Also,the audience is herded from cliché to unintentional farce to insult-to-its-intelligence movie that should have been thought carefully before made.
agger-1
Everything about this movie is bad. I rented it on DVD because I like WWII movies, and the poster suggested something like "Schindler's List" with a love angle ...But it just doesn't fly. The "Poet" is actually a young German soldier who spends most of the film moping and feeling sorry for himself. Herein consists, far as I can tell, his "poetic demeanor". We are also supposed to sympathize with his troubled conscience over his part in the war. But this is hard, as he is (wait for it!) a spy infiltrating the countryside to report on partisan movements and pave the way for the German invasion of first Poland, then Russia.When the Jewish couple escapes the massacre of their village, their midwife suggests they get a job on - of all places - a large German base ready for the invasion of Russia. While such employment is obviously treason on the part of Polish civilians and would be severely punished after the war, we are also asked to believe that German soldiers would knowingly accept Jewish non-prisoners as employees while the SS was killing all over the countryside.We are supposed to be awed by the female lead's love for her "poet", yet she prostitutes herself to German officers at the camp as if a matter of course. Which it would hardly have been for a Jewish village girl in 1941.The cutting is awful, and almost every scene is theatrically conceited and wholly unbelievable. There's really nothing to like about this movie - avoid at all costs.
leiser18
I found this movie on DVD at Blockbuster under the above title. I was very disappointed. It was unrealistic and the plot full of holes. The German accents were almost annoying and even hard to understand. The only redeeming quality of this movie was Roy Scheider as the rabbi. At least he seemed believable. Whoever came up with the script should have watched a good Holocaust movie like Schindler's List first before subjecting the public to this mediocre stuff. Darryl Hannah talents were wasted in this film, plus she didn't seem old enough to have a grown (twenty-something) son. Forget about watching The Poet, aka Hearts of War!!!
adrian_c10
I liked the storytelling in this film. Also the plot twists were pleasant and although the end was predictable the storyline is captivating. The romance was realistic, but sometimes a little exaggerated. Rachel's story should be more developed.The actors were good, the decor was brilliant and the cinematography also.The flaws I've seen so far: Time errors? No way you can get a baby that fast. Factual error? In this movie some scenes go by too quickly without a good transition of time. Revealing mistakes: Crew equipment and mike visible in at least 3 shots.In despite of some flaws a good cinema film.
AD
