¡Tango! (1933): A bit dusty, but it has soul

Is it worth watching?

Honestly, you probably only want to watch ¡Tango! if you have a soft spot for film history or if you’re obsessed with the roots of the genre. If you’re looking for a tight, modern story, this isn’t it. People who love early musicals will dig the performances, but everyone else might find the pacing a bit of a slog. It’s definitely not for the impatient viewer.

The whole thing feels like a stage show that forgot to stop being a stage show. The plot is basically a thin wire holding up a bunch of musical numbers. Our main guy, the singer, is pining away, and the "bad man" is doing his best to be as unlikable as possible. It works, in a way, but it’s all very predictable.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of ¡Tango! (1933) through its definitive frames.

There’s a moment where the woman just leaves with the bad guy, and you’re sitting there thinking, really? You know she knows better. But the movie doesn’t care about logic. It cares about the next song starting up.

Oddly Specific Notes

• The way the camera just sits there during the musical numbers—it’s like watching a concert from the worst seat in the house.
• There’s a guy in the background of one café scene who looks like he’s forgotten his lines completely. He just stares at his coffee for a solid minute.
• The transition to Paris feels like they just flipped a switch. One minute they’re in Buenos Aires, next they’re suddenly across the ocean. No travel, no fuss.

Comparing this to something like The Calendar Girl, you can really see how different regions were trying to figure out the 'talkie' format back then. ¡Tango! is a lot more focused on the music than the actual acting. When they sing, the whole screen lights up. When they stop, it gets a bit dry.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of ¡Tango! (1933) through its definitive frames.

Tita Merello is the only reason to stay awake during the dialogue-heavy bits. She has this look in her eyes like she’s already bored with the script. It’s fantastic.

The movie isn’t trying to be a deep meditation on love or anything. It’s just trying to show off some talent. By the time they get to Paris, the film is basically running on fumes. You can tell they ran out of interesting places to put the camera.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s an artifact. If you like the sound of a scratchy record and a bit of melodrama, you’ll get through it fine. Just don't expect it to change your life. 💃