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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Amalia remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you are a completionist for early Argentine cinema. If you need snappy dialogue or modern pacing, skip this. You will be bored in about ten minutes.
But if you like watching how movies used to be put together—with all the creaky sets and the very formal acting—it has a certain charm. It is not exactly The Knight in Gale, but it has its own vibe.
The whole thing feels a bit like a stage play that got lost on its way to a camera. People stand in lines. They talk at each other with these very deliberate, practiced pauses. It’s almost aggressive in its politeness.
There is this one scene where Amalia is just staring out a window, and the camera stays on her face for so long I started looking at the dust motes floating in the light. 🕰️ It is a weirdly quiet moment that doesn't really go anywhere, but I kind of liked it.
The romance itself? It is very 1936. Lots of sighing. Lots of 'oh, what shall we do' faces. It lacks the punch of The Betrothed, but it’s fine if you just want to let a movie wash over you while you do something else.
Sometimes, the background extras in the street scenes just look like they are waiting for a bus. They clearly didn't have enough to do that day. Classic.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even trying to be one. It’s just a story from a different century, wrapped in 1930s film stock. It’s like eating a dry cracker—not exciting, but it gets the job done if you’re hungry for history. Don't go in expecting a thriller like The Queen of Death. Just take it slow.