Austin shows its affection for classic cinema and the lovely NINOTCHKA (1939)

Posted by Stephen Jannise

Congratulations are due to the Alamo Drafthouse and my co-editor pal Daniel Metz for the wildly successful first installment of their new series Cinema Club. I’m not writing to talk about the discussion led by Daniel, Alamo owner Tim League, and University of Texas professor Charles Ramirez- Berg, other than to say that, if you didn’t attend this screening, you missed a fine opportunity to spend a few moments talking about a classic film with your fellow Austin film enthusiasts. What I am here to do is praise this wonderful film, Ninotchka, which you still have a chance to see at the Cinema Club encore brunch, Saturday, February 6, at the Alamo Ritz.

I first saw this movie as a young kid and didn’t really enjoy it. I think, perhaps, I can attribute this lackluster response to my inability at that time to comprehend both the ideologically combative European atmosphere within which the film takes place and the film’s subtle sexual innuendo, a key reason why director Ernst Lubitsch’s sex comedies frequently eluded the censors and why the director became known for his “Lubitsch Touch.” Seeing the film now, I can recognize that these two elements are the primary contributors to the film’s refreshingly adult tone, which was difficult to achieve at a time when every film was supposed to be harmless enough to be considered a “family film.”

Like its fellow wartime masterpiece Casablanca, Ninotchka is essentially about two people trying to make a little love in war-torn Europe. Where the former film is renowned for its bittersweet, perfectly formed narrative, Ninotchka is remembered for dialogue, created by a team of writers that included Billy Wilder, so funny that it quite infamously made even stone-faced star Greta Garbo laugh.

These two have not cornered the market on ''foreign relations.''

The scene in which Garbo’s Ninotchka finally breaks down and laughs is, in a way, so naturally and winningly romantic that it stands apart not just from other scenes in this film but from most romantic films in general. As one Alamo audience member suggested after the film, Garbo goes to great lengths during her early scenes to forbid herself from showing any emotion. Thus, Melvyn Douglas tries every romantic trick from that cinematic era’s book, moves that would have worked on any other actress, but fails to get even a grin from Garbo.

In this scene, Melvyn Douglas is frustrated because he isn't getting any.

It is only when Douglas, seemingly about to surrender, falls backward out of his chair that Garbo breaks down and laughs. And boy does she laugh. Even more remarkable than seeing this serious actress finally let loose is how accurately this scene portrays that moment in which someone opens up and lets love in. So many romantic films try to capture this moment with a kiss, a chivalrous deed, or some other cliched narrative event, but none feel as genuine as this one.

In this scene, Melvyn Douglas is feeling more optimistic.

Of course, this being a sex comedy, the sex isn’t the only thing Lubitsch gets right. Garbo is assisted (actually, more like annoyed) by three kind, bumbling Soviet buffoons, who provide uproarious comic relief from the first frame to the last. Perhaps more importantly, their tomfoolery balances out some of the film’s darker anti-Soviet statements, making the whole endeavor seem like a lighthearted Parisian lark and preventing an ideological stance from overtaking the romance at the film’s core, which it very well could have.

Casablanca may be a perfect film (I think it is), but Ninotchka is damn near perfect itself and certainly deserving of the same attention Bogie and Bergman have received over the years. In fact, one could argue that Lubitsch’s effort is more daring in just about every way. People are certainly getting laid more often in Lubitsch’s film, not to mention drinking way too much champagne, but more intriguingly, the director goes much further in portraying and decrying the reigning political issues in Europe at the time. Ninotchka is most likely a film you have not seen and most definitely a film you must see. Why not now?