A Soldier's Love Is True Indeed: A Slow March Through Old-School Melodrama

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, it depends on how much you enjoy black-and-white era melodrama. If you like your emotions big, your uniforms crisp, and your plot points delivered with absolute earnestness, you will probably dig it. If you need modern pacing or anything remotely resembling irony, you’ll be bored within the first ten minutes. 🎞️

The whole thing feels like a relic from a different planet. Not in a bad way, just... distinctly old. There is a specific kind of performance style here—a lot of wide eyes and dramatic pauses—that reminds me a bit of the stuff in The Fifth Commandment. It’s all about the posture.

Petra Unkel carries the weight of the story on her shoulders, mostly by looking concerned in hallways. It works, though. You can feel the movie trying to squeeze every drop of tension out of simple gazes and awkward doorways.

Some stray observations:

• There is a scene in a parlor that lasts for an eternity. I checked my watch twice.
• The lighting in the exterior shots is bizarrely flat, almost like they were filming in a perpetual overcast Tuesday.
• I swear the sound mixing makes everyone sound like they are shouting from the bottom of a well.

It’s not quite as punchy as Guilty of Love, but it has that same strange, dusty charm. The dialogue feels like it was written to be carved into stone rather than spoken. People don't just talk; they proclaim.

There is a moment near the middle where the music swells so aggressively it almost drowns out the actual lines. It’s a bold choice. It’s also incredibly funny if you aren't in the right mood.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a decent way to spend a rainy afternoon while you're folding laundry? Absolutely. It’s got that specific, slightly stuffy energy that makes you feel like you’re watching a piece of history that’s trying its hardest to be a pop song.

Just don't go in expecting The Straight Road in terms of narrative clarity. This one likes to wander off into its own feelings. Sometimes that’s enough. Sometimes it’s just a lot of walking around in wool coats. 🧥