Currito de la Cruz (1936): A Dusty Look at Old Bullfighting

Is it worth your time?

If you're a fan of old Spanish cinema or just curious about how they shot bullfights back in the thirties, yeah, maybe check it out. But honestly? If you aren't already into the whole 'golden age' vibe, you're probably gonna find this one a bit of a slog. It’s got that specific, scratchy feeling of a movie that’s been sitting in a box for way too long. 🎞️

The story is pretty straightforward. We’ve got Currito, the aspiring matador, and all the usual stuff that comes with that life—pride, glory, and the inevitable danger. It feels a lot less polished than something like The Sea Lion, which had a bit more snap to its editing.

There is this one scene where he’s practicing in the yard, and the background extras just look bored out of their minds. It’s hilarious. You can see one guy in the back just waiting for lunch, totally forgetting he's supposed to be cheering for the hero.

The pacing is… well, let's just say it takes its sweet time. It reminds me of the pacing in The Birth of White Australia, where you feel like you’ve been watching for hours even though it’s only been twenty minutes. Sometimes the dialogue just hangs there, heavy and a bit stiff, like they were worried about saying the wrong word.

Small things I noticed:

• The sound quality dips whenever they go outside. It’s like the wind is trying to join the conversation.
• The bullfighting sequences are surprisingly intense, even if the camera work is a bit frantic and shaky.
• I’m pretty sure one of the extras trips over his own cape and they just left it in the final cut. 😅

It’s funny, the movie gets a lot better when it stops trying to be a serious drama and just shows the grit of the ring. It’s not trying to be a grand piece of art, which is actually kind of refreshing. It just exists. That’s more than I can say for some of the stuff I watched this year, like Skybound, which felt like it was trying way too hard to impress.

I wouldn't go out of my way to hunt for a perfect restoration of this. The scratches and the weird jumpy frames are sort of part of the deal. You take it as it is, or you move on. My advice? Don't overthink the plot. Just watch the hats and the dust. It's a weird little time capsule.

Is it great? No. Is it interesting? Yeah, in that 'how did they even manage to film this' sort of way. It’s definitely not for everyone, but there’s a bit of heart under all that 1930s film grain.