The Poet is a 2007 Canadian drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 starring Colm Feore

Colm Feore

Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...

, Roy Scheider

Roy Scheider

Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...

, Kim Coates

Kim Coates

Kim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...

 and Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah

Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...

. It was written by Jack Crystal and directed by Damian Lee

Damian Lee

Damian Lee is a Canadian film director, writer, and producer responsible as well as notable for such films as Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, No Exit and Ski School...

, with an estimated budget of CAD

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

 $11 million.
It was released in the United States as Hearts of War.

Synoposis

A rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

's daughter and a German soldier fall in love at the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Naturally, they are pulled apart by the war. The film follows their struggle to reunite.

Cast

• Jonathan Scarfe
  Jonathan Scarfe
  Jonathan Scarfe is a Canadian actor. He is married to actress Suki Kaiser and is the son of actors Alan Scarfe and Sara Botsford....
  
   as Oscar Koenig
• Nina Dobrev
  Nina Dobrev
  Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mia Jones, the single teenage mother, on Degrassi: The Next Generation, from the show's sixth to ninth season...
  
   as Rachel
• Zachary Bennett
  Zachary Bennett
  Zachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
  
   as Bernard
• Kim Coates
  Kim Coates
  Kim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...
  
   as General Koenig
• Colm Feore
  Colm Feore
  Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
  
   as Colonel Hass
• Roy Scheider
  Roy Scheider
  Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
  
   as Rabbi
• Daryl Hannah
  Daryl Hannah
  Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
  
   as Marlene Koenig
• Miriam McDonald
  Miriam McDonald
  Miriam Katherine McDonald is a Canadian actress and occasional dancer. She is best known for playing Emma Nelson on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Career:...
  
  as Willa

Reception

The Poet received generally poor reviews. Jay Seaver of eFilmCritic said "You're not supposed to laugh at movies like "The Poet" [...] Once the audience is snickering, you've failed. [...] The story [...] is supposed to be grand and tragic". Similarly, Steve Power of DVD Verdict concluded "There are much better films out there that cover similar ground, and Hearts of War is best avoided."