"Ninotchka" (1939)

There’s a guy at my work who STILL hates the Russians with a passion. I’ve no problems with them. Except, their reach probably has done more bad than good. And they still won’t admit it.

This is the Ernest Lubitsch film of all Lubitsch films…I think. AND with a bonus of having Charles Brackett AND Billy Wilder contribute to the script.

This movie is about a Russian representative sent to wrangle in three wayward comrades who’ve allowed the grandeur of Paris to overtake them. Having come from a country that is oppressive and super strict, the hotel to which they’ve first ran rampant in is like kids at Disneyland.

That’s when they send in their top gun. A no-nonsense, humorless Russian consulate member to negotiate jewelry that the three guys were attempting to sell to the French. Ninotchka is played pitch perfect by (a speaking) Greta Garbo. Touted and advertised as not only her first movie in talkies, BUT her first in comedy as well, you marvel at how her transition was seamless. More impressive is…COMEDY. Here’s a woman known strictly for her eyes and expressions, blended with hearing the first time, must have been shock and awe. She’s wonderful as a hard-ass Communist, but the arc of her turning to a softer romantic lead is…unbelievable. I tried to think of someone in today’s cinema who had that much range within the same movie. I couldn’t think of a single one. Which may be a credit to Lubitsch or the writing.

That’s another thing…the comedy. This is 1939, prior to the end of World War II. The amazing part about this movie, the comedy STILL holds up. It’s unreal. The one-liners would still work today (a credit to their senses of humor), and it’s not like “Airplane!” humor or “Something About Mary” which, by default…most physical humor movies are universal. This was a social commentary, mixed with universal behavior. They tapped into the core of what would be deemed funny even decades later. THAT is a sign of a perfect movie.

What a pleasure of a movie that bounces nicely and feels directed by a comforting and skilled hand. THIS is the craft I miss about filmmaking. We’re so sloppy nowadays (myself included).