My Heart Is Calling: Mostly Just Opera and Misunderstandings

Is this thing worth a watch?

If you're into old-school operatic musicals, you'll probably have a decent time. If you get bored by people bursting into song every ten minutes, you might want to skip this one. It feels a bit like watching Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but with more tuxedos and less farm equipment.

The plot is exactly as thin as it sounds. Mario is a tenor, he finds a girl in his cabin, and then everything gets messy in Monte Carlo. The owner of the opera house is just the worst kind of guy, really.

There's this moment where Mario just starts singing out of nowhere and it feels like the director forgot to give him dialogue. It’s funny, in a way. You can almost see the actors waiting for their cue to start the big production number.

The Monte Carlo Vibe

The sets look like they were made of painted cardboard, which is actually kind of charming. It doesn't look like real life, but it doesn't try to, either. I noticed a background extra in one scene who clearly had no idea what to do with his hands, so he just held a hat for three minutes straight. It’s those little things that keep me watching.

The chemistry between the leads is... well, it's there. It's very polite. Nobody is really yelling, even when they're supposed to be fighting. It feels very staged, like a play that just happened to be put on film.

• The costumes are wild. So many sequins.
• The tenor really loves his own voice. Maybe a bit too much?
• The pacing is frantic, then it hits a wall, then it’s frantic again.

Honestly, the movie gets a lot better when it stops trying to be a romantic drama and just lets the opera stuff happen. When they’re actually performing, the energy picks up. It’s like the movie breathes a sigh of relief when it can finally just do the musical part.

I caught myself looking at the clock around the hour mark, but then a song started that was actually pretty catchy. It's a weird rhythm. You'll be annoyed one minute, then tapping your foot the next. It’s not exactly Ladies Should Listen, but it’s got a weird heart to it.

Don't expect something deep. Just watch it for the fancy suits and the singing, and ignore the fact that the plot makes almost no sense if you think about it for more than five seconds. 🎶