Queen Christina (1933) YTS - Download Yify Movie

Period dramas made in the past often fall foul of reflecting the time which they were made in, not when they were set. This one however is timeless and ageless evoking a feel of the seventeenth century whilst still being very much a grand MGM epic from the golden age of Hollywood. It's beautifully and imaginatively crafted by maestro director Rouben Mamoulian to perfection and acted with complete believability and passion evoking some very real emotion.It is set during the truly horrific (and complicated) Thirty Years War and begins with the death of the Protestant leader, Swedish king, Gustav Adolf. He leaves behind his seven year old daughter to take over as 'king' to continue leading Sweden in the terrible war. Greta Garbo's particular acting style and strong Swedish accent which can sometimes feel a little too theatrical at times is for once absolutely perfectly suited to playing this person who in reality had to be the greatest actress in Sweden. The role Christina had to play was to convince her subjects that their suffering, their sacrifices were God's will and unquestionably necessary. Her act was to instil such hatred of the enemy, such detestation of Catholicism that the mass slaughter of literally millions of people could be justified but it was all just an act. Although this state of perpetual war was all she had ever known, Christina herself could not convince herself that this was indeed God's will and Garbo brilliantly with incredible subtlety conveys this inner mental turmoil. Her other role was produce an heir and that is what this film uses as its hook to get into her mind.Greta Garbo was personally involved with the making of this film, it was her own pet project and she insisted that her co-star would be her old flame, John Gilbert. He too is excellent as Christina's Spanish love interest. Fuelled with the memories of their past passionate affair, the chemistry between the two of them seems very real and is genuinely touching. Before you start to complain that the love story between Christina and Alfonso is completely made up you should know that the writer used this very clever device to symbolise her inner struggles, the epic battles going on inside her head between her feelings as a compassionate and sensitive, intelligent woman and her feelings as a king. John Gilbert's allegorical character represents Christina's aspirations, her desire for independence and her desire for freedom which she knows can never be. The famous tragic last scene (which is honestly quite emotional) is inevitable.The story is tragically sad and so is the story of poor John Gilbert. His ill-advised monumental fall out with Louis Mayer, the most powerful man in Hollywood completely destroyed his career resulting in his death from alcoholism just three years after making this. Such tragedies seemed to be all too common back in the days of the 'studio system' with stars such as John Gilbert, John Barrymore and Clara Bow. A guy driving a truck driver or girl from the typing pool were virtually overnight given a new life, earning literally millions of dollars and then maybe a year later, at the whim of a studio head were unemployed, that life was over. In some ways John Gilbert's character in this film which can logically only have one ending reflects the actor's own trajectory.

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Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

Greta Garbo is great in this speculative depiction

Greta Garbo is great in this speculative depiction of the life of the famed Queen of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals! Acceding to the throne after the death of her warrior king father, she spends much of her reign engaged in the Thirty Years War that ended with Sweden being a pre-eminent power in a battle-torn Europe. The arrival of her army commanding cousin, Prince Charles (Reginald Owen) gives rise to hope amongst the population the she will soon marry him. She, on the other hand, has no plans to be bounced into matrimony. Indeed, she has no plans to keep the war going either, so despatching her chancellor (Lewis Stone) to peace talks, she invites a new Spanish Ambassador (John Gilbert) to her court. Meantime, her domestic suitor "Magnus" (Ian Keith) is pressing his own suit, her confidant "Ebba" (Elizabeth Young) earns her enmity with a clumsily delivered conversation with her own lover and so she sets off into the snow with her aide "Aage" (C. Aubrey Smith) where a chance encounter changes the course of not just her own destiny, but that of her country too. If you know a bit about the history, then you will have an inkling as to what happens - an epitome of politicking, romance and tragedy, and Garbo plays the part boldly and engagingly. It helps that the script gives her the latitude to play the role of a strong and forceful woman in what is undoubtedly a man's world. There's a strong chemistry between Both Garbo and Gilbert and also between her and her stalwart Aubrey Smith, with the latter introducing a little humour to the snow-bound proceedings. Much has been made of the supposed sexual ambiguity of both the character and the actor, and I suppose if that's the case you want to make it can be, but for me this is a classic biopic of a clever and shrewd women playing a game built for men - either on screen or behind it, and I really did enjoy it.

Reviewed by 1930s_Time_Machine 8 / 10

A magnificent and thought-provoking romance

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Queen Christina

1933

Action / Biography / Drama / History / Romance

Queen Christina

1933

Action / Biography / Drama / History / Romance

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Movie Reviews

Greta Garbo is great in this speculative depiction

A magnificent and thought-provoking romance

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