The film fabricated a section of the romance of Sweden's Queen Christina in the middle of the 17th century; although there are many plots and scenes involving the palace in the film, Garbo's humorous and free performance makes the whole film look not dull.
The former King of Sweden died in battle, and the 6-year-old queen Christina succeeded to the throne. This little girl, who was raised as a boy since she was a child, showed royal majesty and kingly spirit at an early age. Time flies, and the little queen gradually grows up to the age when she can get married; she manages everything and works hard, and she always wears men's clothes every day. Both the veteran and the bishop were urging her to marry her cousin, Prince Charles, the front-line hero. At the same time, the chancellor Magnus coveted the queen's beauty and power and often disturbed her.
When the queen went out in a micro suit, she ran into Antonio (John Gilbert), the Spanish envoy who had been trapped in a carriage. Antonio mistakenly regarded the queen as a handsome boy; the two met again at the hotel, and the conversation was speculative. It happened that the hotel was full, and the boss suggested that the two rent a room together, and it was done.
There is no need to repeat the series of situations that will be faced afterwards; in the end, when the queen finally releases all constraints and rushes to her lover, she greets the sad news that the lover has died in a duel.
Although still unsurprisingly a typical Hollywood gossip movie, Garbo's performance is extremely classic.
At the beginning, the queen's extraordinary menswear style caught my eye; it was uninhibited, intelligent, and full of personality, but not too masculine. The atmosphere and charm gave me a shock. Feel. I have always admired capable and clever women, and Garbo has raised my favorability by half on this point; and the queen in a court meeting after the victory, asked the king’s benevolence when an old farmer enlisted in the army. My heart makes me admire it even more.
I have read a comment before that Garbo can always make her heroine look stupid; this time is no exception. Gilbert is indeed not admirable, even when he was in Garbo's men's wear, he was able to compare it. The guests in the hotel argued over the Queen’s lovers last year. They almost drew their swords to each other. The Queen decisively stood up and shot the gun in the air, joking with an exaggerated number that was nearly doubled. This scene is too interesting. Later, when the two took off their hats and saluted each other, Garbo behaved like a real big boy, very cute, especially when he threw his hat on the nail. Of course, the most touching thing is that the queen took off her coat to reveal her feminine qualities. In front of the shocked Antonio, she was implicitly shy, with a beauty that could not be described.
This is very easy to connect people with the previous scene of the queen stuffing her body wearing a long pajamas into trousers; before, I only saw little Jody wear this way in "Deer Garden Changchun". I was worried about whether this kind of pants would be caught in the pants. It's so funny.
And the classic shot: the queen leaned her right cheek on the pillow and looked at Antonio by the fire with affection, but she didn't get too excited about my heart, even though the baby's eyes were big and beautiful.
Another classic picture is the scene of the queen snuggling the candlestick on the throne.
I'm so grateful that Lawrence Oliver was not allowed to play Antonio back then. It's unimaginable. Oliver also openly accused Garbo for this, saying that she only thought of herself. He didn't want to think about whether he was right or not; and even if Garbo was really selfish, because Gilbert couldn't play it, she had no passion.
The end of the film is shocking: Antonio died under the grief of the queen; the captain asked the queen if she would continue sailing, and the queen resolutely said: "Go." Her eyes are firm and solemn, and the flesh and blood on her face conveys a strange meaning, and we can even see the deep inside of her heart from her eyes. If Westerners also say that "sorrow is greater than death", I think it is confirmed at this time.
Looking at the small screen of the TV, there is still such an infection. Imagine how moving it would be if it were a big screen in a theater.
There is no lack of humorous details in the film, as well as the MGM-style "tragedy of coincidence" at the end. It is said that in order to play the queen well, Garbo once went back to his home country, Sweden, to read a lot of relevant materials and studied carefully; combined with the rumors in the United States during the period mentioned in the biography, and the advertising slogan "Garbo Return!", everything is clear. . Moreover, Garbo’s original surname, Gustafson, seems to be the same as the royal family’s surname.
The real Queen Christina, in fact, looks ugly, but she is a legendary woman second only to Cleopatra in history, and she is indeed a queen who announced her abdication. Perhaps as Antonio said to the queen in the film, we can't imagine the scene of a country where a blizzard is raging and a serenade with a banjo in hand to a lover, just like in the warm Spain. It is this kind of climate that made this extraordinary queen. Of course, it also created our Garbo and Bergman.
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