Buster Keaton sounds very confused in De frente, marchen

If you are looking for a masterpiece, keep moving. This is not it. This is for the people who want to see something strange and kind of awkward.

It is worth watching if you love film history or if you just want to see Buster Keaton look very, very tired. If you hate old movies where the sound quality is fuzzy, you will probably want to turn this off after five minutes.

So, back in the day, they didn't do subtitles like we do now. They just made the whole movie again with the same sets but a different language. In this one, they kept Buster but swapped out almost everyone else for Spanish-speaking actors.

You can tell Buster is just guessing what he is saying. He says his lines with this flat, monotone voice that is supposed to be funny because he is a 'deadpan' comic. But here, it just feels like he is trying really hard to remember where to put his tongue to make the 'rr' sound.

There is this one scene early on where he is trying to get into a car. It is classic Keaton physical stuff. He falls, he slides, he looks like he has no bones in his body.

But then he has to talk. And the movie just stops dead.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of De frente, marchen (1930) through its definitive frames.

The pacing is realy messy. It feels much longer than it actually is. Some scenes go on forever, like the part where they are all in the barracks just chatting.

The other actors, like Lolita Méndez, are actually pretty good. She has a lot of energy that Buster just can't match because he's too busy thinking about his next Spanish word. She smiles a lot, maybe too much, to make up for how quiet the rest of the movie feels. 💃

I noticed the background noise is really loud too. Like, when they are marching, the sound of their boots is almost louder than the music. It’s kind of distracting.

Actually, the marching scenes are the best part. Buster is always out of step or doing something wrong with his gun. It reminds me a bit of the slapstick in Call of the Cuckoo, but less chaotic.

There is a guy named Juan de Landa who plays the sergeant. He is huge. He screams a lot in Spanish, and Buster just stares at him with those big sad eyes. It is the only time the movie really feels alive.

I wonder if the audience in 1930 thought his accent was funny or just confusing. Probably a bit of both.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of De frente, marchen (1930) through its definitive frames.

The plot is about him being a rich kid who thinks the recruitment office is something else. It is a trope we have seen a million times. It is not as charming as Snow White from the silent era, mostly because the sound makes everything feel heavier.

One thing that really stuck out was a reaction shot of a dog. The dog looks more confused than Buster. It’s a very long shot. Just a dog looking at the camera while people yell off-screen. 🐕

The movie gets slightly better when they actually get to the war stuff. There are some explosions that look like they used real gunpowder and it probably wasn't very safe.

Buster does this thing with a trench and a bucket that made me chuckle. But then there is a musical number. Why is there a musical number in a war movie? I don't know.

It feels like the directors didn't know if they were making a comedy or a drama or a Broadway show. It's just a big pile of ideas that don't quite fit together.

I felt a bit sad watching it, honestly. You can see the silent film era dying right in front of you. Buster was a king of silence, and here he is, struggling with a script he can't even read properly.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of De frente, marchen (1930) through its definitive frames.

Is it a good movie? No, not really. Is it an interesting movie? Absolutely.

It is a weird little time capsule. It shows what happens when Hollywood tries to force a genius into a box that doesn't fit him.

If you are bored on a Sunday and want to see something that feels like a fever dream from 1930, give it a go. Just don't expect it to make much sense.

The ending is very abrupt too. It just kind of... stops. No real big finale, just a quick joke and then the lights go up.

I guess they ran out of film or maybe Buster just wanted to go home and speak English again. I don't blame him.

Some things I wrote down:

• Buster's hat is way too small for his head.
• The way they filmed the camp looks very dusty.
• The sound of the rain in one scene sounds like someone frying bacon.
• Lolita Méndez has amazing hair.

Anyway, it’s a weird one. Watch it for the history, not the laughs. 🎬