Ninotchka (not rated)
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This movie is from 1939, but it's set sometime prior to that, I'm not exactly sure when. So, technically I guess I could put my review under "period pieces." Or "romantic" or "comedy." I'm a bit hesitant to put it under "classics," since I don't recall ever having heard of it before I saw the DVD in a thrift shop (though it didn't look like it had ever been opened). Maybe I'd heard of it, maybe I hadn't, I dunno. Anyway, it stars Greta Garbo, a legendary actress whose work I've always wanted to see, but I don't think I ever have. It's kind of ironic that this should be the first of her movies that I see, since she's rather famously playing against type, here. But whatever... I guess the movie is a classic, whether I'd heard of it or not. So, this is where the review goes. I also want to say that it deserves a higher rating than I've given it, but... it's just not something I'm likely to watch again. Maybe I will, I dunno. I definitely liked it a lot. It's really funny, and of course it's from an era when "funny" still meant "witty," which I certainly appreciate.

Anyway, there are these three Russian guys named Buljanoff, Iranoff, and Kopalski, who are sent to Paris to sell jewels that had once belonged to Grand Duchess Swana, but which had been confiscated during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Since that time, Swana and various other nobles have been living in Paris, though it seems like they haven't got much money. (It strikes me as odd that some of them, such as Swana and Count Leon d'Algout, still live like idle rich, in spite of having no money, whereas others have menial jobs.) Anyway, Swana learns that her former jewels are now in Paris, so she gets Leon to try to prevent their sale, in the hopes that she can recover them. So, he becomes chummy with the three Russians. Their failure leads their boss to send a special envoy to take over the job. And that envoy is Ninotchka Yakushova (Garbo).

Actually, not having seen any of Garbo's earlier movies, I'd venture to guess that Ninotchka's personality is probably not far removed from her typical characters. Very cold; in fact, Ninotchka is rather a stereotypical representation of the ideal Soviet communist. I can understand how Russians of that era might have been offended by the portrayal of the character (and later, by the portrayal of conditions in Moscow itself). But it's all so over-the-top, played for laughs, that it should be impossible to take seriously. Anyway, at first it looks like she's going to do a much better job at dealing with the legal complications Leon has created than the other guys did. However, she soon meets Leon, by random chance, and they share an immediate attraction. It's much more obvious on his part, because he lays on the goofy charm pretty thick, and she... is an ice queen. Still, she ends up back at his place. And then, before too much can happen, they find out who each other are, and therefore they are enemies. He clearly has no problem mixing pleasure with business, but she... does. So she leaves.

Of course, he is persistent, because this is a movie, and in the movies, you can fall hopelessly in love with someone you've just met and have absolutely nothing in common with. It's just that easy. Complications, bah! They're just there to fill out the plot. Anyway, he does eventually win her over, and her whole personality changes. I mean, there are still unmistakable glimmers of her old self, but mostly she's just, you know, a girl in love. Or whatever. But of course, there's still the legal battle over the jewels to worry about. And Grand Duchess Swana gets personally involved with that. (Incidentally, it seemed at the start of the movie that she was very personally involved with Leon, so jewels aren't the only thing that gets fought over. But this movie is too classy for any cattiness.)

Well, I guess that's all I want to say about the plot. But I'll repeat that it was really funny. And fairly clever. And it had some real heart, and drama. And a happy ending. And good acting all around.