Coney Island in 1932 is a total sweat-fest (Review)

If you have nine minutes and want to feel like you are melting in a 1932 heatwave, this is for you. It is not really a "movie" in the way we think of them now. It is more like a window that somebody left open for ninety years. 🎡

History buffs will probably get a kick out of the grain and the ghosts. People who need a plot or a hero should probably go watch The Branded Four instead. This is just vibes. Very sweaty, crowded vibes.

The whole thing is about people trying to escape the heat. You see these families and couples just shoved together. Everyone is wearing wool or heavy cotton because that is just what you did back then. I cannot imagine how bad it smelled on that boardwalk.

The camera moves around like a person wandering through the crowd. It feels accidental sometimes. It stops on a face for a second too long. Or it looks at a sign that is half-burnt out.

The lights are the real star here. Since it is black and white, the neon signs look like they are burning holes in the screen. They have that weird glow that old film gets when the light is too bright. It makes the rides look like something out of a dream, or maybe a nightmare.

I kept looking at the background. There is a guy in one shot just staring at the camera like he has never seen one before. He looks exhausted. You can see the dark circles under his eyes even through the film grain.

The rides themselves look terrifying. They are these huge, clanking metal structures. There are no safety bars that look like they would actually work. It is all just spinning wood and iron. 🎢

It reminded me a little bit of the energy in The Ballyhoo Buster. But this feels more grounded. Less like a show and more like a home movie someone spent a lot of money on.

Louis De Rochemont has this way of making everything feel real. He does not try to hide the trash on the ground. He does not hide the fact that some of the people look miserable. It is a very honest nine minutes.

There is a shot of a girl laughing on a ride that is perfect. Her hair is flying everywhere and she looks genuinely terrified and happy at the same time. Then the shot cuts away before you can really process it. The pacing is weird like that.

Some of the transitions are clunky. The screen just goes black for a beat too long. You think the movie ended, but then it comes back to show more people eating. 🌭

I wonder what those people were thinking. They were in the middle of the Great Depression, but they still spent their last nickels to ride a wooden horse. It makes the whole thing feel a bit heavy. Even when the music is trying to be upbeat.

The footage of the ocean at night is basically just black ink. You can only see the white foam of the waves hitting the sand. It is actually really spooky if you look at it for too long.

If you have seen The Breath of a Nation, you know how these old shorts can feel a bit preachy. This one is not like that. It does not try to teach you a lesson. It just says, "Look at these people."

I noticed a dog running through the legs of the crowd at one point. Nobody seems to care. It is just part of the chaos. The chaos is what makes it feel alive.

Modern documentaries are so clean and polished. They explain everything with voiceovers. This just lets the machinery and the screaming do the talking. It is better that way.

One shot of a hot dog stand lingers so long you can almost see the grease popping. My stomach actually turned a little bit. That is good filmmaking, I guess? Or maybe just gross.

The film ends kind of abruptly. It does not have a big finale. The lights just go out, essentially. It feels like the camera operator ran out of film and just went home.

I think about how different Coney Island looks now. It is still loud, but it is not this loud. This felt like a machine that never stopped. A giant, clanking, sweating machine. 🏗️

You should watch it if you like textures. The texture of the suits, the sand, the flickering light bulbs. It is a very tactile experience for something you can only see.

It is definitely more interesting than Snowbound. At least things are happening here. Even if those things are just people standing in line and looking hot.

Is it a masterpiece? No. It is nine minutes of footage. But it is nine minutes that feel heavier than a lot of two-hour movies I have seen lately. It sticks to you like the humidity it’s filming.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes to people-watch. It is the ultimate people-watching movie. You get to see a world that is totally gone, but the faces are exactly the same as the ones you see on the subway today. 🚇

Just do not expect a story. There is no story. Just the heat and the lights. And honestly, sometimes that is enough for a Tuesday night.