El rey de los Gitanos: A dusty trip to the carnival

Is it worth a watch?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s musical-dramas that feel like they were filmed inside a dusty theater, maybe. If you want something that respects your time or makes sense, look elsewhere. It is pure escapism from an era when princesses hiding at carnivals was the height of cinematic tension.

The whole thing feels like one of those movies you stumble upon on cable at 3 AM. The pacing is weirdly uneven. One minute we are in a stuffy palace, the next we are watching a group of people dance around a fire like their lives depend on it. It is charming in a way that feels totally accidental.

The Duke is the classic villain here. He spends the whole movie looking like he just stepped on a tack. His obsession with winning the princess back isn't really romantic, it's just exhausting. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Heart of New York, but with less charm and more ruffled collars.

Odd bits I noticed:

• The carnival sets look like they were built out of cardboard and hope.
• The singing just... happens. People don't lead into it, they just start belting out tunes while staring intensely at each other.
• The gypsy camp seems to have an infinite supply of glitter, or at least that is what the lighting suggests.
• There is a reaction shot from one of the side characters that lasts so long I actually checked if my player had frozen.

It is definitely not as tight as Transatlantic, which managed to keep its head on straight. This movie prefers to drift. It wanders off into musical numbers whenever the plot gets too difficult to solve. That is a bold move, honestly.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than watching a blank wall? Maybe. Sometimes you just need to watch a princess get confused by a guy who wears too many scarves. 🎪

If you enjoyed the messy energy of The Grand Parade, you will probably tolerate this just fine. Just don't go in expecting a history lesson. It is just a dream that someone recorded on film ninety years ago and left in a box.