Queen Christina

Greta Garbo shines in her role as a Swedish monarch who actually has no desire to rule. She is also sceptical about marriage, and wants nothing to do with Count Magnus, with whom she was, however, briefly involved and who is already firmly counting on her as his wife. Everything changes when ‘Queen Christina’ meets the charming Spanish officer Antonio (John Gilbert in a star-making role), even though he initially mistakes her for a man … Queen Christina is regarded as a proto-feminist film, which, with its cross-dressing moments, even lends itself to queer interpretations. As one of Garbo’s great achievements on the silver screen during the sound film era, this fictionalised biography is perhaps one of the most successful historical films of classic Hollywood cinema. Mamoulian, originally from Armenia, exercises restraint – unlike his usual style – with extravagant directorial flourishes, thereby giving the Swedish diva’s performance all the more scope. (dw)