One Week of Happiness: A Time Capsule of Muted Joy

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you're the kind of person who enjoys watching old movies to see how people held their cigarettes or stood in rooms. If you’re looking for a tight plot, look elsewhere. People who love stuffy, formal drama from the archives will probably find something to dig into, but modern audiences will likely get bored halfway through the second act. It moves at the speed of a parked car.

The whole thing feels like a stage play that someone forgot to take off the stage. The blocking is so rigid it hurts. Everyone stands in these perfect little lines like they’re waiting for a bus that’s never coming.

The little details that stuck

There’s this one scene where Blanca de los Ríos is just staring out a window, and the camera lingers for about three seconds too long. It’s not even a dramatic stare. It’s just... she’s looking at a garden. Maybe she was waiting for lunch? I don’t know. But it felt so humanly awkward.

The costumes are impeccable, though. You can tell they spent half the budget just making sure everyone looked like they belonged in a ballroom. It’s a bit like watching The Undying Flame, where the clothes do half the acting for you.

• The dialogue is stiff enough to break a window.
• Nobody ever really says what they mean.
• The lighting is surprisingly moody in the parlor scenes.

It reminds me of the way things used to be in The Fatal Photo—that sense that if one person breaks character, the whole house of cards falls down. There isn’t much fire here, but there is a strange, quiet sadness to it all. It’s like they knew they were filming in black and white and decided that meant nobody could ever smile fully.

I found myself drifting off during the longer dinner sequences. They just keep passing plates of nothing. Still, there’s a weird, hypnotic rhythm to it once you stop trying to keep track of who is cheating on who. It’s not great, but it’s there. And sometimes, that’s enough for a rainy Tuesday night. 🎞️