Beautiful Sky: A weird, dusty tug-of-war

Is this for you?

If you like old-school, black-and-white dramas that are heavy on the dramatic gazes and people standing in fields looking conflicted, you’ll dig this. If you need a movie that moves fast or has, like, a sense of humor, stay away. This is pure, unadulterated yearning.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream of the Mexican Revolution. It’s not interested in the politics so much as it is in the absurdity of self-sacrifice. Two best friends, both so determined to let the other guy marry the girl that they practically jump into bullets. It’s noble, I guess, but also kind of annoying.

The vibe

There is a lot of dust. I mean, a lot of dust. Every time they step outside, it feels like you’re getting grit in your teeth. Arturo de Córdova is doing a lot of heavy lifting here with his eyebrows alone. He has this way of looking at the horizon that makes you think he’s either contemplating his next move or just really hungry.

The pacing is… well, it’s not pacing. It’s more like a series of moments held together by dramatic music and very stiff postures. Some scenes just sit there, staring at you, waiting for you to feel something. Sometimes it works. Other times, I found myself counting how many hats were in the frame. (Spoiler: it’s a lot of hats.)

Wait, what was that?

There’s this one sequence near the middle—I won’t say where—where the two leads are just standing in a barn, talking about who loves the girl more. It goes on forever. It’s almost like they’re trying to out-sad each other. It’s bizarre. It reminded me a bit of the heavy-handed sincerity you get in The Prodigal, where the stakes feel huge but the people involved seem to be living on a different planet.

It’s not a bad movie, but it’s definitely one you have to be in the mood for. You can’t just put this on while you’re folding laundry. It demands you sit there and deal with the melodrama.

• The lighting is surprisingly moody for a film of this era.
• The dialogue is mostly people talking about dying for their friends.
• I think someone forgot to tell the extras to stop looking at the camera.

It’s a bit of an odd duck. It’s got that same dusty, desperate energy you see in Wolf Fangs, just with more longing and fewer teeth. It’s definitely not for everyone, but there’s something oddly hypnotic about watching two guys try to give away their lives like they're handing out coupons.