Su última canción: Melodrama that hits a little too hard

Is this worth your Tuesday night?

If you like your cinema drenched in old-school melodrama and don't mind a lead character who is basically a walking train wreck, you might get a kick out of Su última canción. It’s not for the impatient, though. If you need snappy dialogue or a protagonist who actually learns a lesson, you’re probably going to hate this.

There’s something about the way these older films handle desperation that feels a bit more raw than today’s polished stuff. The opera singer—he’s just sad, isn't he? He’s clinging to the girl like she’s the last life raft in the middle of the ocean.

Watching him try to make a comeback is honestly kind of painful. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Skyrocket, where the climb back to the top feels more like a slow descent into a different kind of misery.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Su última canción (1933) through its definitive frames.

Notes from the couch

• The bridge scene? It goes on for a bit too long. You can practically hear the director yelling "more pathos!" from behind the camera.
• The chemistry is... well, it's there. It’s the kind of intense, slightly weird chemistry that makes you shift in your seat.
• The background extras in the opera house look like they’d rather be literally anywhere else. It’s hilarious if you watch the guy in the third row.

There’s this one moment where he’s staring at her across a table, and the lighting is just too perfect. It feels like the movie is trying to force you to believe they’re soulmates. I wasn't buying it, but I couldn't look away either. 🙄

It’s not as gritty as 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, but it shares that same weird obsession with people who have absolutely nowhere left to go. When the rejection finally hits, it feels like the movie just gives up on trying to be subtle.

The pacing is a total mess by the end. It’s like they realized they only had ten minutes left and decided to cram in every dramatic beat they had saved up. A bit sloppy? Sure. But honestly, it’s refreshing to watch something that doesn't feel like it was focus-grouped to death.

Not a masterpiece. Not even close. But it stays with you, mostly because of how stubbornly tragic it wants to be. 🎻