USA - September 2001

For those of us who are helplessly enthralled by the Garbo mystique, this fascinating documentary is one that you'll find yourself watching over and over again and never tiring of. Much of the source material was supplied by the memoirs of those close to the legendary actress--Mercedes de Acosta and Cecil Beaton to name just two. The best, most eloquent interviewee is John Gilbert's daughter, who gives fascinating stories of her father's affair with Garbo, one of which (the cliff story) will break your heart. Garbo's biographer is equally memorable, as she provides intelligent insight as to the whys and hows of Garbo's inexplicable idiosyncrasies. A handful of co-stars and acquaintances also speak, but perhaps the most memorable highlight is the mournful, haunting music that plays intermittently and at commercial breaks as breathtaking pictures of the great Garbo are shown. This sets the tone for a sad afterthought--after watching this you will indeed feel empty inside, as you inevitably come to the conclusion that perhaps no one, like the legend suggests, could solve the Garbo riddle. Yet you understand that this is what keeps our fascination going to this day. A must-see for all Garbo fans.

The woman behind the face and films contained a certain quality of mystique that made her an undefinable image of Hollywood beauty and glamour. The most compelling thing about Greta Garbo was her early retirement from the screen that left us only with beautiful, haunting black and white images to remember her by.

This great documentary runs through Garbo's life and films in chronological order in an attempt to reveal the 'real' Garbo. This is never achieved, as so many conflicting stories of her personality and life work to undermine each other, yet it is a fascinating portrait nevertheless. We see some great footage from her early silent work with John Gilbert (their relationship is also discussed in some detail here), her first line in the talkies (The fabulous “ Gimme a viskey with ginger ale on the side...and don't be stingy, baby” from Anna Christie ) her glamour MGM talkies where she played tragic women such as Anna Karenina, Camille and Queen Christina , and that magic moment where Garbo 'laughed' on screen in Ninotchka (not the first time she laughed, as the film posters alleged, but Ninotchka marked her first real comedy).

Greta Garbo was Swedish, so she wasn't naive about sex. But her movies are not about sex. They are about LOVE. (Remember LOVE ?) Today's movies are like modern corporations. They are more interested in the profit (sex) than the product (love). Garbo knew the difference--even then. Every gesture, every emotion, every inflection in her voice, every expression in her beautiful face was a reflection of love. And that is why WE love HER.

In the film CAMILLE , the wealthy Baron de Varville grants Marguerite's request for money to pay her bills, cognizant that she actually wants it for a romantic interlude with another lover. When she gently kisses him on the cheek in gratitude, he slaps her harshly across the face for her deception, then brusquely leaves. Humiliated by his response, ashamed at her own actions, her head slowly drops, a look of scorn and pain crossing her lovely countenance. The she spies the money tightly clutched in her hand and she is reminded that she now has the resources to run away with her one true love. All of these emotions are expressed without any grand gestures or utterances. Just a subtle change of facial expressions.

To those who question her gigantic talent or her timeless beauty, I cite this scene as evidence that she was the greatest and most magnetic actress in film history.