El cantar de mi ciudad: A messy, beautiful tango trip

You should probably only watch this if you have a soft spot for old, flickering history or if you really like tango.

If you need crisp colors and fast editing, you are going to absolutely hate this movie. It moves like a tired dog on a hot day.

I sat down with this one because I was curious about how people looked at each other in 1930s Argentina. El cantar de mi ciudad is not a masterpiece, but it feels very real in its own clunky way.

The story is simple enough. A guy writes music, a girl sings it, and they fall in love while the city hums in the background.

José A. Ferreyra, the guy who made this, clearly loved the streets of Buenos Aires. He doesn't care about making things look perfect or fancy.

There is this one scene in a cafe where the smoke just hangs in the air. It felt like I could actually smell the stale coffee and cheap cigarettes through the screen.

Esther Calvo plays the singer, and she has this way of looking at the camera that feels a bit uncomfortable. Not because she is bad, but because she feels like a real person caught in a weird moment.

The guy, Antonio Ber Ciani, looks like he stayed up for three days straight trying to find a rhyme for a song. He has these heavy eyes that tell you everything you need to know about being a struggling artist.

I noticed a lot of the background extras just staring at the camera. It’s funny because it reminds you that sound film was still this big, new, scary thing back then.

The sound quality is pretty rough, honestly. Sometimes the music drops out or sounds like it’s being played underwater.

But weirdly, that makes the tango parts feel more ghostly and sad. It’s not like The Sea Hawk where everything is big and loud and polished.

This movie is much smaller and more intimate than that. It’s almost like eavesdropping on a conversation you weren't supposed to hear.

There is a scene where they walk down a dark street and the shadows are so thick you can barely see their faces. I think the lighting guy just gave up that day, but it works anyway.

It creates this vibe of loneliness that fits the music perfectly. Tango isn't supposed to be bright and happy, after all.

I found myself thinking about Be Yourself while watching this. Both movies try to capture that spark of a performer, but this one feels much grittier.

Alvaro Escobar pops up and does his thing, but the movie really belongs to the two leads. Their romance isn't some grand, sweeping thing with violins.

It’s more like two people who are tired of being alone finding a reason to stay awake. It reminded me a bit of the pacing in The Barker, where things just sort of happen without a big rush.

The writing is a bit stiff in places, I'll admit that. Some of the lines feel like they were pulled straight out of a cheap greeting card.

But when the music starts, the dialogue doesn't really matter anymore. You just watch their faces and the way the light hits the grain of the film.

I did find one reaction shot of Felipe Farah that lasted about five seconds too long. I actually started laughing because he just looked so confused about where to look.

It’s these little mistakes that make me like these old movies. They aren't scrubbed clean by a computer or a hundred producers.

It’s just a guy with a camera and some people trying to tell a story about their home. It’s definitely better than something like Monkeying Around, which just feels empty.

There is a sequence where they show the city waking up that is actually quite beautiful. It’s just shots of doors opening and people sweeping the pavement.

It has nothing to do with the plot, really. But it gives you a sense of place that most movies forget to include these days.

The ending comes up pretty fast and doesn't explain much. It just sort of stops, which I actually preferred over a long, boring speech.

I think if you go into this expecting a big drama, you'll be disappointed. But if you want to see a slice of life from a time that’s long gone, it’s worth the hour or so.

Just don't expect the sound to be good. Seriously, it’s a bit of a mess for the ears.

It’s a movie that feels like an old postcard you found in the back of a drawer. A little bit torn, a little bit faded, but you can’t bring yourself to throw it away. 🎶

Things I noticed:

• That one guy in the background wearing a hat that is definitely too small for his head.
• The way the piano player keeps looking at his hands like he's surprised they are moving.
• The very dramatic way they pour wine. Nobody pours wine like that anymore.
• A lot of very long pauses where people just look at each other.

If you're bored, maybe check out Edgar, the Explorer after this for something totally different. Or don't. I'm not your boss.

Overall, El cantar de mi ciudad is a strange, dusty little treasure. It’s not perfect, but it has a heartbeat.