Ninotchka (1939)

Featured Audience Ratings

• AJ V

  
  This predictable romantic comedy disguises itself as a story about relations between Russia and France, but that story takes a back seat to the romance in the end. I found this movie contrived and boring. I liked the more comedic remake, Silk Stockings (1957), better than the… More
  This predictable romantic comedy disguises itself as a story about relations between Russia and France, but that story takes a back seat to the romance in the end. I found this movie contrived and boring. I liked the more comedic remake, Silk Stockings (1957), better than the original.

• First L

  
  Greta Garbo stars in the title role in this pre-cold war look at the Soviet Union. When three emissaries come to Paris to sell the royal jewelry confiscated during the revolution, Leon (Melvyn Douglas), representing the Duchess, attempts to reclaim the jewels in her name. The… More
  Greta Garbo stars in the title role in this pre-cold war look at the Soviet Union. When three emissaries come to Paris to sell the royal jewelry confiscated during the revolution, Leon (Melvyn Douglas), representing the Duchess, attempts to reclaim the jewels in her name. The no-nonsense Ninotchka, a high-ranking official, is sent to straighten out the mess and get money for the jewels which her country so desperately needs. But things go awry when she meets Leon by accident (the two don't know each other yet) while sight-seeing, and they fall in love at first sight. Ninotchka has two distinct parts to it: one is a conventional love story, the other is probably the most unique portrayal of Soviet-western relations in the history of cinema. It's one of the rare instances of the Soviet Union (Stalin's Soviet Union, no less) not being villainized but rather viewed from a realistic, humanist point of view. Don't get me wrong, it's not glorified either, the Soviet Union is portrayed as a desperate, secretive place, but it's the people are good and noble. The aristocracy is the real villain in the film, being petty and bourgeois and treating those not of noble birth as inferior. On the other hand, the other part is a fairly low caliber love story that in modern times would star Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. There's something very "Miss Congeniality" about the whole thing. The idea that this film is billed as a comedy is also highly questionable, as there's nothing all that funny to be found in it. Melvyn Douglas is a cardboard character who's role could've been filled by virtually any other actor of his day and it would've had nil effect on the film. Garbo's performance however, was quite good in what would be one of her last roles. All in all, a mixed bag of a film.

• Stella D

  
  ...<3

• Ken S

  
  One of my new favorites. One of the most charming movies ever made.

• Cinema F

  
  Ninotchka: What have you done for mankind? Leon: Not so much for mankind... for womankind, my record isn't quite so bleak. Ninotchka: Let's form our own party. Leon: Right. Lovers of the world, unite! Ninotchka: I must have a complete report of your negotiations… More
  Ninotchka: What have you done for mankind? Leon: Not so much for mankind... for womankind, my record isn't quite so bleak. Ninotchka: Let's form our own party. Leon: Right. Lovers of the world, unite! Ninotchka: I must have a complete report of your negotiations and a detailed expense account. Buljanoff: No, non, Ninotchka. Don't ask for it. There's an old Turkish proverb that says: If something smells bad, why put your nose in it? Ninotchka: And there is an old Russian saying: The cat with cream on his whiskers had better find good excuses. Ninotchka was one of the first in which Holywood took note of the existence of Soviet Russia (then an ally of Germany). The approach was satirical: Greta Garbo (Ninotchka) was a cold, automation-like Communist, a kind of ugly duckling transformed into a swan by Melvyn Douglas (Count Leon) who used the magic of Paris to perform the trick.. It's based on the story by Melchior Lengyel, that leaves us with the message that capitalism is not so bad when compared with communism and especially when promoted by a handsome stud like Melvyn Douglas. The film gingerly criticizes the politics of the Soviet Union at a time when they were being courted to be on the side of the West against the war-mongering fascists. Three bumbling Soviet emissaries, arrive in Paris on a mission to sell the valuable royal jewels confiscated from the Grand Duchess Swana during the Communist revolution. The aim is to get quick cash for the strapped Russian government to feed its hungry workers. When they botch the sale, their big boss Commissar Razinin (Bela Lugosi) sends as a special envoy, the loyal, humourless and stern Ninotchka to straighten things out. Swana, in the meantime, retains her playboy boyfriend Count Leon to retrieve the diamonds. In the process Leon starts a romance with the icy Ninotchka, converts the three comrades to be full-fledged capitalists and in the end convinces a warmed-over Ninotchka to stay with him in Paris. The film contains many inside jokes, including a historical encounter between the great instinctive artist of the screen and the great stylist-technician of the stage-Ina Claire-as a Russian grand duchess. The sarcastic joke: the Russians don't defect for freedom but for consumer goods is one of some of the sociological banters which is a bit outdated, but a light-hearted Garbo still sparkles and shines. She did "flirt, dance, drink, howl, romance and kiss" in a non-Garbo way. Directed by Lubitch, this light, satirical comedy has the nonchalance and sophistication that were his trademark (To Be or Not To Be, Heaven Can Wait). The subtle gestures and meanings still work effectively.

• cody f

  
  I've been on a bit of a Lubitsch kick lately and Ninotchka is one of his best. Lubitsch is a great writer and really good with actors. Garbo and Melvyn Douglas are great together and have wonderful chemistry. Douglas plays a french playboy who falls for the no nonsense communist… More
  I've been on a bit of a Lubitsch kick lately and Ninotchka is one of his best. Lubitsch is a great writer and really good with actors. Garbo and Melvyn Douglas are great together and have wonderful chemistry. Douglas plays a french playboy who falls for the no nonsense communist Garbo. His charm slowly melts away her strong Soviet beliefs, but she must choose between love and country. Very entertaining with great performances.

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