La fuerza del querer (1930) - A weird, loud, and charming relic

If you have about an hour to kill and you don't mind the sound of frying bacon over every dialogue scene, you might actually like this. La fuerza del querer is really only for people who collect old movie memories like trading cards. If you want something fast or polished, you are going to absolutely hate this movie. 🍿

It is one of those early sound films where everyone feels like they are standing on X marks on the floor. You can almost see the actors thinking about where the microphone is hidden. It is usually in a vase of flowers or a big chunky lamp.

The plot is pretty thin, mostly about girls working in a shop and dreaming of bigger things. Maria Alba is the main reason to watch. She has this way of looking at the camera that feels much more modern than anyone else in the cast. She doesn't feel like she is acting for the back row of a theater.

Then there is Stepin Fetchit. It is always a bit jarring to see him in these old Fox films. His whole schtick is so tied to a specific, uncomfortable era of comedy. He moves like he is underwater while everyone else is caffeinated. It is a strange contrast that keeps you awake during the slower bits.

I noticed a scene where a character walks through a door and the shadow of the boom mic clearly follows him. It is a small thing, but it makes the whole movie feel more human. It reminds you that in 1930, they were basically just guessing how to make these things work.

The writing is a bit stiff, which makes sense since it had about four different writers. Usually, when you see that many names on a script from this era, it means they were just translating and hacking away at a script from another movie. It lacks the punch you find in something like The Crash.

The Sound of 1930

The audio is the biggest hurdle. Sometimes the music swells so loud you can't hear what Rafael Valverde is saying. He has a great hat, though. I spent about five minutes just looking at the shape of his fedora. 🎩

There is a piano scene that goes on for a bit too long. I think they just wanted to prove they could record a piano. In 1930, sound was the special effect. So, they just let people talk and play music even if it didn't move the story forward.

It reminded me a bit of the pacing in Being Respectable, where the middle section just sort of sags like a wet cake. You wait for the party to start, and when it does, it's just people in suits standing around. But there is a certain charm to the low-budget feel of it all.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of La fuerza del querer (1930) through its definitive frames.

Carlos Barbe plays his role very straight. He is a bit boring, honestly. He looks like he would rather be anywhere else than in this shop. I found myself wishing the movie followed Tito Davison more. He has a spark that the other guys lack.

"Why do they always shout their secrets?"

That is what I kept thinking. Every time two characters have a private moment, they yell at each other. It is a carryover from silent movies where they had to over-emote, I guess. It makes the romance feel a bit like a sports match.

If you compare this to Strange Cargo, it feels much smaller. It is a localized product. Fox was just trying to capture the Spanish-speaking market by filming these at night on the same sets they used for English movies during the day. You can feel that night-shift energy in the background.

Small Oddities

• The way Maria Alba holds her purse is very specific.
• There is a background extra who looks exactly like my uncle.
• The lighting in the final scene is actually pretty decent.
• The shoes! Everyone has such shiny shoes.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Not even close. It is a bit of a mess, really. But it is a sincere mess. It doesn't have that cynical feeling that some modern rom-coms have. It's just trying to give people a good time for sixty minutes.

I liked the clothes. The 1930s fashion for the working class always looks so much more formal than what we wear today. Even the "poor" characters are wearing ties. It makes me feel like a slob in my hoodie.

The movie ends exactly how you think it will. There are no surprises. But sometimes you don't want a surprise. You just want to see Maria Alba smile and the guy get the girl. It's comfort food, even if the food is a bit stale and the plate is chipped.

I would say give it a watch if you find it on a deep-dive streaming service or a dusty DVD. Don't go out of your way to pay big money for it. It's a nice little curiosity. It's definitely better than sitting through The Sin Woman again, that's for sure. 🎬

One last thing. The title translates to "The Force of Wanting" or "The Power of Love." It sounds way more epic than the movie actually is. The movie is more like "The Power of Hanging Out at a Shop." But I guess that wouldn't sell many tickets.

Maybe I'm being too hard on it. For 1930, this was probably high technology. I just wish the script gave the actors more to do than just stand near the furniture. Oh well. It is what it is. A little slice of history that mostly just exists to show off Maria Alba's eyes.