El día que me quieras

El Día que me Quieras (1935)

*** out of ****

Directed by John Reinhardt

With Carlos Gardel and Rosita Moreno

Simple Gardel film - and maybe the best known - where a son of a millionaire scape from his easy life for his love. A decent melodrama filmed in Paramount studios and being a kind of hit specially at the times of his death. Good performances and great songs like "El Dia que me quieras" and "Volver", which is easily remembered seeing Penelope Cruz singing'it in Almodovar's "Volver".

If you like tango, Argentina and a love story this movie is a must. The haunting voice of Gardel is something that will stay with you. Boy, what wouldn't I give to grow up in Buenos Aires in those time.

All of Gardel's films are flimsy star vehicles, but they are well-made, light and pleasant, despite extremely deteriorated video quality. One wonders what happened to the original celluloid. The videos are available through special orders. GARDEL'S MEMORY MUST BE PRESERVED!!! He is one of a kind. Hollywood never had such a star, a mixture of Valentino and Mozart.

A lot of mystery surrounds his life: Was he really born in France? His mother speaks after his tragic death, without a trace of French accent. Gardel himself says a few French words in a film without a trace of French accent. It is illogical that Gardel wouldn't be fluent in French, given his mother's purported origin.

And did Gardel really write those unbelievably beautiful songs? There is apparently no footage of him really playing any instrument. The songs suggest great familiarity with the piano and great whistling facility. They are whistling songs in the sense that they need no accompaniment, no harmonic underpinnings to be effective. They can be sung a capella. I know, I'm a tunesmith. My extensive familiarity with all kinds of music, particularly classical, leads me to conclude that Gardel, or whoever wrote those songs, is a genius of the first order. Many a classical composer's best tunes cannot compare with unbelievably ravishing melodies like "Cuesta Abajo" or even "Por una cabeza", which express not only incredibly charm, wit and grace, but greatness of soul and heart, a nobility out of this world.

One doesn't need to speak Spanish to appreciate this music, but it sure helps, because the lyrics are works of art in themselves, highly eloquent comments on life. One concept that must be banished, is that tango is some kind of salacious, sexy dance music. At its best it is as classical as a Schubert song.

Carlos Gardel's own favorite film, "El día que me quieras", is one of the very best movies ever produced by a Hollywood studio. He did not live to see its success, but he was right. His genius as a composer, actor and singer emerges in this film that has never been out of circulation.

The video versions does not make any justice to this masterpiece since companies refuse to put money to get good prints (which do exist) for a good telecine.

Even in such poor conditions, the art of Carlos Gardel survives in this film and the soundtrack he recorded for both RCA Victor and EMI Odeon.

This film in my opinion is the best of Gardel's film. His scene where he sings "El Dia Que Me Quieras" is very sympathetic, possibly his most moving in all his films. He is more dramatic and his acting is superior to other work he had done. I enjoyed the story and the songs. highly recommended,