USA 95m Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Key Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert
Greta Garbo plays the titular Swedish queen who battles against her government in this 1933 film.
Christina is placed on the throne as a child after the death of her father on the battlefield. As she grows older she wishes for the Thirty Years War to end, much to the chagrin of her court, and refuses to marry hero of the war Karl Gustav. Fed up with the restrictions put upon her, one day she sneaks out of town disguised as a man where she meets Spanish envoy Antonio (John Gilbert) and upon revealing her gender they quickly become lovers. As Queen though she can't marry a foreign man which puts her in a huge quandary.
The film is part a romance, and a well-done one at that. It perhaps helps that Garbo and Gilbert had been lovers and although the relationship between them had finished by the time they made this film it's clear that they still had a close connection. The cosy scenes in an out of the way inn between the two are really well done and it works really well as a love story.
From there the film explores the issues around being Queen at that time. Christina struggles enough with just constantly being badgered by people when all she wants to do is read but things become even more difficult for her when she her court attempt to force her to marry Karl. Just by having a Spanish envoy, Antonio, at her side causes uproar amongst her people and she does her best to fend them off with strong words but it just isn't enough. It's fascinating to see this woman who is really dedicated to her country but just wants a little freedom in her life, including with regards to who she marries.
I think the film depicts the character in a relatively accurate light even if the details from history are somewhat different. Christina actually abdicated because she didn't want to marry at all and wanted to convert to Catholicism. It's also possible that this was because she was gay and she may have had a relationship with her maid of honour Ebba Sparre. This appears to be alluded to when the pair kiss on the lips even if it is pretty chastely, though it quickly puts Ebba in a relationship with a man so as not to be too scandalous to a 1933 audience (the same-sex kiss was still controversial all the same).
Greta Garbo is fantastic as Christina in this film. She is great when given an opportunity to give a speech, which she does several times in the film making it feel inspiring and passionate. I think it helps that Garbo was perhaps quite similar to the version of Christina depicted in the film, never ending up marrying and both wanting to stay out of the limelight.
I thought this was an excellent film, balancing seventeenth-century politics with a love story and with a powerful performance by Greta Garbo.
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