Karma (1935): A Heavy Dose of 30s Melodrama

Should you watch Karma? If you have a rainy Sunday and a high tolerance for people talking about 'destiny' in rooms with heavy curtains, go for it. If you need a movie to keep you awake, skip this and go watch The Wild West Show instead.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed inside a dusty velvet box. John Hunt is doing a lot of work here with his eyebrows, mostly just looking worried at things that haven't happened yet. It’s weirdly hypnotic, in a 'why am I still watching this' kind of way.

Little things I noticed:

• The lighting in the third act is so dim I thought my screen had died.
• There is a chair in the drawing room that shows up in every single scene. I started rooting for the chair.
• The way characters walk into a room, stop, and just stand there for five seconds before speaking is… something.

It reminds me a bit of the suffocating vibe in Mother Eternal, where everyone is just so exhausted by the act of existing. But where that movie had a bit of a pulse, Karma is content to just let the clock tick.

There’s a scene about midway through—or maybe it was the end, who knows—where a character drops a tea cup. They don't react. They just keep talking about the state of their soul. It felt like the actor forgot to act, or maybe they just didn't care anymore. I kind of loved that.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not a disaster. It just exists. It’s like finding an old, dried-up pressed flower in a book you haven't opened since 1998. You recognize what it is, but it doesn't really smell like anything anymore. 🥀

I found myself comparing it to Physical Beauty, mostly because both films seem obsessed with the surface of things. Karma wants to be deep, but it’s mostly just swimming in the shallow end of the pool. Still, if you appreciate 1930s cinema for the costumes and the weirdly formal way people argue, you’ll find a few moments here that land.

Don't go in expecting a revelation. Go in expecting a nap, or at least a very long, quiet stare at the screen. Sometimes, that’s all you really need.