La croix du sud is a dusty, weirdly quiet desert trip from 1932

If you have a thing for old movies where everyone wears very stiff hats and stares intensely at the horizon, you should probably watch La croix du sud. It is worth it for the scenery alone, honestly.

But if you need a fast-moving plot or characters that don't act like they are in a staged play, you are going to absolutely hate this. It moves like a turtle in the sun.

The whole thing starts with Professor Ménard and his daughter Madeleine leaving Paris. Paris looks fine, I guess, but the movie really wakes up when they get to the Hoggar mountains in Algeria. 🌵

It’s one of those films where the location is actually more interesting than the people. The rocks are jagged and the shadows are so deep it feels like the screen is swallowing the actors.

They meet this guy Aftan. He’s got this history as a soldier named Grandconseil. The movie tries to make this feel like a big deal, but mostly he just looks like a guy who has seen too much sun. ☀️

I kept thinking about Youth and Adventure while watching this. Both movies have that weird energy where people are just 'traveling' and things happen to them by accident.

The Visuals and the Dust

The cinematography is actually pretty decent for 1932. There is a specific shot where the wind is blowing the sand and you can almost feel it getting in your eyes.

Suzanne Christy, who plays Madeleine, has this way of looking at the desert like she’s trying to remember if she left the stove on back in France. It’s a very specific kind of blank stare. 🤨

One scene near the mountain base goes on for way too long. They just walk. And walk. Then they stop. Then they look at a rock. It’s very quiet.

I wonder if the director, André Hugon, just liked the view and forgot to tell the actors to say their lines. It reminds me a bit of the pacing in Tess of the Storm Country, which also came out that year.

Everything feels very heavy and serious. Even when they are just talking about the weather or the army, it feels like they are discussing the end of the world.

Wait, what about the plot?

To be honest, the plot is a bit thin. It’s more of a mood piece than a story.

Professor Ménard is doing professor things. Madeleine is being the daughter. Aftan is being mysterious. That’s pretty much the whole vibe of the first hour.

There is a moment where a character reacts to a shadow that isn't there. It made me laugh because the editor clearly missed it. 🎬

It’s definitely not as weird as something like Cuckoo Murder Case, but it has its moments of total confusion. Like, why did they go there again? The movie never really makes the 'why' feel important.

• The hats are incredible. So many different kinds of hats.
• The sound is a bit crackly, which makes the silence even more awkward.
• The mountain shots are actually pretty breathtaking for a 90-year-old movie.

I noticed that Tahar Hannache is in this too. He’s a big deal in Algerian cinema history later on, so seeing him here is like a little history lesson. 📚

If you’ve seen No Other Woman, you know how these early 30s dramas can sometimes feel like they are stuck between being a silent movie and a talkie. This one is definitely stuck.

There is a lot of panting and heavy breathing in the desert scenes. I think they wanted us to know it was hot. We get it. It’s a desert.

Final Thoughts on the Hoggar Trip

Is it a masterpiece? No way. It’s a bit of a mess and the ending feels like they just ran out of film.

But there’s something about the way the light hits the sand that stayed with me. It’s a lonely movie.

You can see where they tried to make it an adventure like The War Extra, but they didn't have the budget for the 'extra' part.

I’d say watch it if you have a bottle of wine and a rainy Sunday. Don’t expect to be on the edge of your seat. Just let the dust wash over you.

"The desert doesn't care about your military rank, Aftan."

I’m pretty sure that wasn't a real line, but it should have been. Everyone looks like they are thinking it.

Didja notice?

• The way the Professor holds his binoculars upside down for a second?
• That one goat that looks directly at the camera in the background.
• The shadow of the microphone on the sand during the big talk? Maybe that was just a weird rock shadow.
• The way Madeleine’s hair stays perfectly curled despite the sandstorm. 💇‍♀️
• Aftan’s boots look brand new the whole time. Very suspicious.

Overall, it’s a weirdly charming relic. It’s not great, but it’s real. It’s the kind of thing you find at 2 AM on a deep-dive streaming site and you can't stop watching even though you’re bored.