(Review originally written at 22 March 2008)
Despite the fact that the whole gender-bender element within this movie is just utterly ridicules and just totally unbelievable, basically because Greta Garbo looks even more feminine as a man than most women you'll ever meet do, you still sort of tend to forgive this all and all of the movie its other minor issues and flaws. It basically is a very charming and extremely well made movie, especially considering it got made back in 1933. The movie feels more like a mid-'40's made movie.
In its core this movie basically is a romantic movie, disguised as an historical drama, to provide the movie with some extra flair. This combination works out very well and the movie most certainly does not feel like just any other ordinary love-story orientated movie from the same time period. The romantic story itself within this movie is also really good and effective. It feels non-forced and very natural and therefor of course also feels and looks very realistic on screen.
In my opinion the movie is too start really to consider this really as a biopic of Swedish Queen Christina. It's also too much focused on one issue for that; Queen Christina's love life.
It's a very well made and good looking movie. The story is set in the 1600's, so the movie uses lots of grand looking sets and costumes. It perhaps makes the movie a bit stagy looking, also due to its performances and overall style of story-telling but once you're accustomed to it, you can step over it and enjoy the movie for what it is, thanks to its fine constructed story and performances by the actors.
A superior romantic historical movie from the early '30's.
8/10
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