Review of Queen Christina (1934) by Catherine D — 14 Mar 2010

Q is for Queen Christina.

After ascending to the throne while still a child, Christina (Greta Garbo) has already become a skilled and capable ruler as a young woman. She is attempting to navigate Sweden's way out of the Thirty Years' War, despite the popular opinion, which wishes to continue the fight, no matter the costs. In instead choosing peace, Christina receives various foreign envoys, including Don Antonio of Spain (John Gilbert). In a chance meeting with him on the road and in a country inn, she finds herself drawn to this refreshingly genteel diplomat, a man of arts and culture and manners. With no other rooms at the inn, Christina and Antonio find themselves sharing a single bedroom, and in no time half of Christina' secret is revealed: despite dressing as a man, she is actually a woman. The other half - that she is Queen of Sweden - will only become clear after their three days of snowed-in trysting are over, when Antonio presents himself at court for his official duties, only to find himself staring into the face of his new lover. Desperately clinging to her one chance at happiness, Christina first tries to convince her people to accept the Spaniard's presence in her court, and when that fails, she decides to abdicate the throne in order to be with Antonio. Fate has something else in store, but Christina's strength and spirit will surely serve her well whatever may come.

There is a reason why Garbo is the prototype for an era of Hollywood when "they had faces". She is remarkable, so lithe and fluid and determined, especially here as the muse of director Rouben Mamoulian. And her chemistry with Gilbert is palpable (as real-life lovers, they must have thought so as well), all the more impressive since the film comes from a time when a slight touch on the lips was as risque as love scenes got. The plot is a historical fiction; but the fact that it bears little resemblance to the true life story of Queen Christina is not really a detraction. The dialogue is clever and not particularly tainted by the passage of 75 years. Indeed, put into the context of 1933, Christina's exhortations to secure peace before one is the only living thing left in a sea of death is a strikingly pacifist notion against the rise of the Nazi movement in Germany.

Overall, a classic in the best sense of the word, with beautiful production and directing and unforgettable acting by a screen legend.