La reina Cristina

...She looks so weak and so frail That's why she tried to be so hard , But they turned her into a princess And they sat her on a throne, But she turned her back on stardom Because she wanted to be alone.

(Ray Davies,"Celluloid heroes" ,1972)

"Queen Christina" is my favorite Garbo movie and I must not be the only one to be fond of it."Queen Christina" is the story of the actress herself ;the queen abdicates as the star would do eight years later.Like the queen leaves her people weeping they cried a river over the star.

Christina is a modern character,ahead of her time,tired of war and who takes love over marriage of convenience ,who protects arts ,notably literature (funny how she loves Molière and his "Précieuses Ridicules" ).One should note that,even if it's not mentioned in the movie,she did come to France where she visited courtesan Ninon de Lenclos ,then imprisoned in a convent because of her "scandalous" life .

Like Garbo herself,she was a legend in her lifetime and

she would die an enigma to the word,like king of Bavaria ,Ludwig der Zweite ,who lived three centuries after her and who was a bit like her.

The scene at the inn has been plagiarized many times since.Garbo's androgynous beauty works wonders ."A handsome young lord such as you cannot sleep alone tonight,can he?" .Definitely not.

This is a movie with several good points, but "Queen Christina" is most of all notable for the outstanding performance by the great Greta Garbo, in a role that is perfect for her. There are good settings and a good story, with the rest of the cast also mostly performing well, but Garbo's terrific performance grabs the viewer's attention and holds it for the entire film.

The story is very loosely based on the historical Queen Christina, who ruled Sweden in the mid-1600's. The historical character was interesting in her own right, but the movie adds a clandestine love affair with a Spanish ambassador that serves as a catalyst for questions about Christina's identity, duty, and perspective. It's a fine character study that makes ideal material for Garbo, and she is thoroughly convincing when portraying the queen's dilemmas, desires, and decisions. While the historical context is important, many of the things that the queen agonizes over are also timeless concerns, making the portrayal even more memorable. The story itself is also good, with a memorable climax.

This is a fine classic, recommended not only for those who enjoy older films, but also for anyone who can appreciate a great performance by a great actress.

It's 1632. The Protestant King of Sweden falls in battle. A six year old girl climbs onto the throne. Sixteen years later, Sweden is winning the Thirty Years' War and Queen Christina (Greta Garbo) would like it to end. On the other hand, her advisors want to continue the expensive endeavor. She overrules them and signs the peace agreement. Her advisor Magnus is her slavish admirer. Her country is eager to marry her to a Swedish prince and produce an heir. She falls for the new Spanish Ambassador Antonio (John Gilbert) but a public affair with a Catholic would be dangerous.

The inn section is fun although I kept waiting for her to do a big reveal. The film does end up doing an interesting reveal. The fun situation sets up relatively good chemistry. The movie is missing some good action. They have a 30 years war and only one small war scene. The production designs are big and impressive. It's a grand costume drama. The story is rather straight forward and the rumored real story may be more interesting. All in all, it's good.

I recently purchased the Greta Garbo DVD collection and the first film I watched was "Queen Christina". It's the first time I've seen it from beginning to end and it's a beautiful and haunting film. I'm surprised by how old it is. It was made in 1933! And yet the film, aside from the usual dated aspects seen in every movie made then, is remarkably ahead of its time, certainly in the way it views of a female nobility, androgyny and homosexuality. It surprising this movie was made, in the light of the nefarious Hays Code which came into existence just a couple of years before this film was made.

The cinematography is beautiful. The script, though simplistic in its portrayal of Queen Christina's life (the reason I gave this film one star short of a perfect 10), is full of interesting dialogue, which is endlessly quotable. But the one thing that makes the movie so great is Greta herself. Remove Greta from the movie and not much is left. She makes the movie and what an amazing and haunting performance she gives. Some might find her way of acting a bit much but personally, I think it's something to behold. There's no other actor in the world of cinema like Greta Garbo and this film proves it in spades. Her performance is pitch perfect: she's towering, impossibly beautiful and yet vulnerable and warm as well, which is amazing feat. There are several unforgettable and iconic scenes in "Queen Christina" but the biggest icon is Greta herself. Her overwhelming presence in the movie makes it a thoroughly haunting experience. It's amazing that the folks behind the camera knew what amazing person they were working with and "Queen Christina" is the perfect showcase for this legendary star.

As for the quality of the DVD transfer, it's a shame there isn't a better looking version than this one. The film was filled with scratches and sound problems. Like Lawrence of Arabia or Vertigo, "Queen Christina" needs to be restored to its former glory and re-released on the big screen, so a new generation can discover and appreciate this underrated movie.

Period dramas made in the past often fall foul of reflecting the time which they were made in, not when they were set. This one however is timeless and ageless evoking a feel of the seventeenth century whilst still being very much a grand MGM epic from the golden age of Hollywood. It's beautifully and imaginatively crafted by maestro director Rouben Mamoulian to perfection and acted with complete believability and passion evoking some very real emotion.

It is set during the truly horrific (and complicated) Thirty Years War and begins with the death of the Protestant leader, Swedish king, Gustav Adolf. He leaves behind his seven year old daughter to take over as 'king' to continue leading Sweden in the terrible war. Greta Garbo's particular acting style and strong Swedish accent which can sometimes feel a little too theatrical at times is for once absolutely perfectly suited to playing this person who in reality had to be the greatest actress in Sweden. The role Christina had to play was to convince her subjects that their suffering, their sacrifices were God's will and unquestionably necessary. Her act was to instil such hatred of the enemy, such detestation of Catholicism that the mass slaughter of literally millions of people could be justified but it was all just an act. Although this state of perpetual war was all she had ever known, Christina herself could not convince herself that this was indeed God's will and Garbo brilliantly with incredible subtlety conveys this inner mental turmoil. Her other role was produce an heir and that is what this film uses as its hook to get into her mind.

Greta Garbo was personally involved with the making of this film, it was her own pet project and she insisted that her co-star would be her old flame, John Gilbert. He too is excellent as Christina's Spanish love interest. Fuelled with the memories of their past passionate affair, the chemistry between the two of them seems very real and is genuinely touching. Before you start to complain that the love story between Christina and Alfonso is completely made up you should know that the writer used this very clever device to symbolise her inner struggles, the epic battles going on inside her head between her feelings as a compassionate and sensitive, intelligent woman and her feelings as a king. John Gilbert's allegorical character represents Christina's aspirations, her desire for independence and her desire for freedom which she knows can never be. The famous tragic last scene (which is honestly quite emotional) is inevitable.

The story is tragically sad and so is the story of poor John Gilbert. His ill-advised monumental fall out with Louis Mayer, the most powerful man in Hollywood completely destroyed his career resulting in his death from alcoholism just three years after making this. Such tragedies seemed to be all too common back in the days of the 'studio system' with stars such as John Gilbert, John Barrymore and Clara Bow. A guy driving a truck driver or girl from the typing pool were virtually overnight given a new life, earning literally millions of dollars and then maybe a year later, at the whim of a studio head were unemployed, that life was over. In some ways John Gilbert's character in this film which can logically only have one ending reflects the actor's own trajectory.