Clemencia: An old-fashioned, dusty heartache

Is this worth the time?

Honestly, it depends on how much patience you have for 1930s melodrama. If you love watching people suffer elegantly in rooms filled with heavy curtains, you will probably be glued to the screen. If you need a plot that moves faster than a turtle in mud, stay away. This isn't exactly The U.P. Trail in terms of action.

The movie leans hard into the tragic romance tropes. There is a lot of hand-wringing. Like, an excessive amount. At one point, I started counting how many times someone looks off into the distance while sighing. I stopped at ten.

The Vibe

It feels very much like a stage play that someone decided to film. The sets are tight and everyone is always positioned just so. It reminded me a bit of the suffocating domestic energy in Expensive Women, though this has a much grittier, sadder edge to it.

The performances are... well, they are loud. Everything is expressed through wide eyes and dramatic pauses. It is not subtle, but it is very committed.

• The lighting is surprisingly moody in the second act.
• The dialogue is thick with flowery language that nobody has used since, like, 1934.
• There is a scene with a letter that takes way too long to read.

You can tell the director really wanted you to feel the weight of the social standing between the characters. It works, mostly because it feels so old and dusty. It is not as light or charming as something like Henpecked, that's for sure.

One thing that caught me off guard: the pacing. It drags in the middle, specifically during the long conversations about honor. I found myself looking at my phone, which is a bad sign. But then, suddenly, a character makes a decision that is so incredibly stupid you just have to keep watching.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s just a sad story that feels like it’s trapped in a time capsule. If you’re in the mood to be bummed out by historical romantic choices, give it a go. Just don't expect it to change your life. 🕰️