Los Claveles: Flowers, drama, and a lot of talking

Is this for you?

If you love grainy, theatrical period pieces where every line feels rehearsed to perfection, you’ll dig this. If you need a fast pace or modern editing, you will probably be checking your watch by the twenty-minute mark.

It’s not a movie for everyone. It’s definitely for the crowd that enjoys The Hater of Men and wants to see that specific brand of old-world melodrama.

The vibe

There is this one scene near the middle where they just talk about the carnations forever. It feels like the director really wanted us to care about the symbolism, but I was mostly looking at the lighting on the walls. It’s a bit much.

Alberto López holds his own, though. He has this look in his eyes like he’s trying to remember if he left the stove on back home. It’s weirdly relatable.

Small stuff I noticed

• The background extras in the plaza look like they are waiting for a bus rather than reacting to the drama.
• The sound mixing is a bit wonky, especially when the music swells too hard.
• Someone is definitely wearing shoes that don't fit the time period.

I couldn't help but compare it to Dos noches. Both films have that same heavy, stagey feel that makes you feel like you are sitting in the front row of a theater. Sometimes that’s great. Sometimes it just makes the room feel small.

The pacing is honestly all over the place. One minute it’s high-stakes emotional yelling, the next it’s just people walking through a doorway. It’s like the editor took a nap halfway through the job. But I didn't hate it.

It’s charming in a dusty, forgotten kind of way. Like finding an old photograph in a thrift store box. You don't know who these people are, but you stay for a second anyway. 🌸