Storm Over the Andes: A forgotten dive into the clouds

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a weird itch for 1930s aviation movies. If you want high-octane thrills, stay away. You will probably find it slow, maybe even a bit dusty. But if you dig those old studio sets and guys in leather flight jackets looking brooding, you’ll find something to latch onto.

The whole thing feels like it’s held together by rubber bands and sheer willpower. The plot moves like a plane struggling to gain altitude, stalling every time it gets close to something interesting.

The vibe

It’s not trying to be The Black Cat, and that’s probably a good thing. There is a lot of standing around on airfields. It feels less like a war movie and more like a soap opera that accidentally wandered onto an airstrip.

The cockpit scenes are clearly on a soundstage. I spent half the movie just looking at the clouds in the background—they don’t move quite right, you know? It’s charming in a 'they clearly had no budget for actual flying' kind of way.

Random thoughts

• The mustaches in this movie deserve their own billing. Truly top-tier work.
• The dialogue is so stiff you could use it to hammer nails.
• I kept waiting for a real dogfight, but the movie prefers guys staring at maps.
• Is it just me, or does the sound design make every engine sound like a lawnmower?

There’s this one moment where a pilot looks out the window, and I swear he’s just looking at a painting of a mountain. It’s almost sweet. It reminds me a bit of the simplicity in The Millionaire, where the movie relies entirely on the actors being present, even if the world around them is made of cardboard.

Final rambling

It isn't a masterpiece. It isn't even a particularly good war story. But it has this specific, odd texture that only movies from this era seem to possess. It’s not great, but I didn't hate it. It’s just… there. Floating in the middle of nowhere, much like the planes in the film. ✈️