“Garbo laughs,” and so does the audience. Ninotchka is a fun romantic comedy set against the backdrop of Paris during the years after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Not exactly what most people would consider fodder for a comedy, but Ninotchka uses the differences between the stereotypical Russian types and the more laidback Parisians to good effect here. The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Walter Reisch, three of the most talented screenwriters in movies. It was directed by Ernst Lubitsch, whose deft touch with comedy is on full display here.
The plot is an intriguing one revolving, ostensibly, around several items of royal jewelry confiscated by the Bolsheviks after the tsar was deposed. (Yes, I know that “deposed” is a genteel way of describing what happened, but this film isn’t truly interested in addressing such grim subject matter… unless it could be played for laughs.) Three Russian agents have been dispatched to Paris to try to sell the jewels, only to face a series of obstacles such as the reluctance of the Parisians to get involved in such international intrigue. There’s also the small matter of the Russian Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), who wants the return of her jewels, and she’s been tipped off by a waiter at an upscale hotel (another Russian in exile) that they’re in France.
The title character, played by Greta Garbo in one of her best performances, is a special envoy sent to Paris to figure out why the three earlier agents have not yet managed to sell off the royal jewelry. The three men—Buljanoff (Felix Bressart), Iranoff (Sig Rumann), and Kopalski (Alexander Granach)—have, it seems, become very enamored of the French way of life, which is so much more luxurious and, well, fun than the life they had to live back in Russia. As soon as Ninotchka arrives, she demonstrates that she will remain steadfast in achieving the goal of helping her fellow Russians. Unfortunately, she too falls victim to the charms of Paris and of one Parisian in particular, Count Leon, played with great charm by Melvyn Douglas.
Leon has tried to convince the three Russian agents to consider making an arrangement regarding the jewels that would be more favorable to Grand Duchess Swana, who just happens to be his fiancé. He tempts them with fancy dinners and wine and lots of cigarettes provided by lovely young women who keep arriving at the hotel room they’ve chosen because it has a bigger safe to hold all the jewels. They find him charming (well, who wouldn’t?), and he’s clever enough to use their affection for him and their disenchantment with Russia to full effect.
It’s almost twenty minutes into the film before Garbo first appears, and she’s a marvel from the first instant we see her at the train station. Severe, serious, humorless—it’s clear that she is not going to let the three men continue to enjoy themselves. They marvel at Russia sending a female agent, only to have her deadpan, “Don’t make an issue of my womanhood.” She carries a picture of Lenin with her, and she’s definitely committed at the start of the film to adhering to Bolshevik principles.
One of the things that is striking about this movie is how Ninotchka and Leon begin to switch ideologies as the narrative progresses. She slowly becomes more cosmopolitan, even buying a new hat that she had earlier denounced as frivolous. He, on the other hand, becomes more inclined to goad his butler into starting a revolution among the workers. It's quite funny, really, to see them exchange roles in this way, and you don't need a deep knowledge of the inner workings of capitalism or communism to get the joke quickly.
The hat itself deserves a special mention. Given that the film was released by MGM, you’d expect that the production design and costume design would be first-rate, and it certainly is. But the hat? It’s, frankly, quite silly. Perhaps that’s the point. It’s something so frivolous that no one in Russia… well, no Bolshevik anyway… would find it attractive. Garbo’s Ninotchka does, though, and makes an impulsive purchase. However, even perched above that amazing face, it’s still a silly hat.
Ninotchka and Leon first meet by accident on a street when she’s trying to find her way to the Eiffel Tower. Not to admire it, of course, no. She wants to study it as an example of engineering. Before their sightseeing finishes, though, she’s back at his apartment, and he’s trying to woo her as best he can, but the best compliment she can afford him is “Your general appearance is not distasteful.” Quite the way to turn a man’s head, isn’t it?
It’s a sequence in a restaurant that led to the famous advertising tag line of “Garbo laughs.” (She had only spoken on screen a few years earlier, and that was billed as “Garbo talks.” What about “Garbo eats” or “Garbo stares”? They missed out on great opportunities.) Leon is trying to tell her jokes, but they’re not terribly funny, and she’s so severe. It’s only when he falls and knocks down a table that she begins to laugh, and then the whole restaurant laughs, and then Leon himself laughs. You can see that her demeanor toward him begins to change, and Garbo allows her facial expressions and body language to convey such a remarkable softening.
Eventually, the plot becomes absorbed into the love triangle, naturally, that includes Ninotchka, Leon, and the Grand Duchess Swana. Ninotchka and Swana clearly dislike each other because they blame the other for what happened in Russia or what’s happening in Russia. Their showdown at a nightclub is powerfully tense, and Swana makes it very clear that Ninotchka will be ending her relationship with Leon after the matter of the jewels has been settled. Garbo’s performance as a woman drunk on champagne for the first time is a delight. She needs to enjoy what little time she has left in Paris.
There's some interesting moments set in Russia after all four of the agents return home. Their night of sharing a four-egg omelet is quite funny, even if it does devolve into some of the most stereotypical Western views of what life under Communist rule must have been like. They have some lovely memories of their time in Paris, and even though she’s gone back to being quite humorless, she allows herself to enjoy their company and their reflections on better times. The ending is perhaps pure romantic fantasy, but that's always been one of the great contributions of film: allowing us to live in a world where fantasies like this can take place.
Oscar Nominations: Outstanding Production, Best
Actress (Greta Garbo), Best Original Story, and Best Screenplay
No comments:
Post a Comment