Mal estudiante (1926) is a weirdly relatable silent era deep cut

If you have about forty minutes to kill and you don’t mind squinting at a screen that looks like it was dragged through a gravel pit, Mal estudiante is actually worth a look. It’s mostly for people who enjoy seeing how students used to slack off a hundred years ago. If you hate slow-moving silent plots or black-and-white grain, you’ll probably find this insufferably boring. 🎬

I sat down with this one thinking it would be a total struggle to get through. Most of these mid-20s silent comedies from Europe can feel a bit stiff compared to the Hollywood stuff. But Luis Llorens, who plays the lead, has this weirdly expressive face that kept me watching.

He doesn’t just look guilty when the teacher catches him. He looks like he’s trying to physically disappear into his own collar. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Playin' Hookey, though maybe a bit more grounded in reality.

The classroom scenes are where the movie really finds its rhythm. We’ve all had that one teacher who looks like they haven’t smiled since the turn of the century. This guy in the movie has a mustache that looks like it has its own zip code. 👨🏻‍🏫

There is this one specific moment where the 'bad student' is trying to hide a note under his desk. The camera stays on his hands for way too long. It starts to feel awkward, like you’re actually there in the room holding your breath with him.

I noticed the desks in the classroom look incredibly uncomfortable. They are these tiny wooden contraptions that probably gave an entire generation of Spanish kids permanent back problems. It’s a small detail, but it made the whole setting feel real.

The film gets a little messy once it moves outside the school. It’s like the writers had four different ideas for a prank and just decided to film all of them at once. Some of the cuts are pretty jarring, but that might just be the age of the film talking.

There’s a scene with a ladder that feels like it’s trying to be a Buster Keaton bit. It’s not quite as polished as what you’d see in The Iron Mule, but you can tell they were trying their best with a smaller budget. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you that the slapstick is high-stakes.

Isabel Alemany shows up as the love interest, I guess? She doesn't have much to do other than look disappointed in the men. To be fair, the men in this movie are mostly idiots, so her reaction is completely justified.

I kept getting distracted by the hair grease. Every single guy in this movie has hair that looks like it could reflect a laser beam. It must have taken an hour just to get the side-parts that straight. 💇‍♂️

One reaction shot of a dog sitting in the street lingers for about ten seconds too long. The dog looks genuinely confused about why there’s a camera in its face. It’s one of those 'why is this still in the movie?' moments that makes old cinema so fun.

The lighting is pretty hit or miss throughout. In some scenes, the sun is so bright it washes out half the frame. In others, it looks like they were filming in a basement with a single candle.

It’s definitely not as slick as something like The Lottery Man. But there is a certain charm in how clunky and human it feels. It’s like watching someone’s old home movies that accidentally turned into a narrative.

I actually liked the parts where nothing was happening more than the actual jokes. Just watching the extras in the background of the street scenes is fascinating. People in 1926 really did just stand around wearing hats and looking serious, didn't they?

Juanito Pastor has a small role, but he brings a lot of energy to his scenes. He’s much more natural than some of the other actors who seem like they’re posing for a photograph. He moves around the frame like a real person, which is refreshing for this era.

The ending feels a bit rushed, to be honest. It kind of just... stops. No real big resolution, just a 'well, I guess that’s over' vibe. It reminded me of the abruptness in This Way Out, where you’re left wondering if they ran out of film.

If you find a copy with a decent piano score, it makes a huge difference. I tried watching a few minutes in silence and it just felt like a fever dream. The music helps bridge those weird gaps where the actors are just staring at each other.

The title cards are a bit of a mess in the version I saw. Some of them have typos, or maybe that’s just how they spelled things back then. Either way, it adds to the slightly broken charm of the whole experience.

I think the most relatable part is just the sheer desire to avoid responsibility. Whether it’s 1926 or 2024, nobody actually wants to sit through a boring lecture. In that sense, the movie is actually pretty timeless.

Don't go in expecting a masterpiece. Go in expecting a weird, grainy window into a classroom from a century ago. It’s a charming little disaster that works better than it has any right to. 🎒