Film and Discussion: Ninotchka

In this romantic-comedy of opposites, Ninotchka (Greta Garbo), a cold, pragmatic comrade from the Soviet Union, arrives in Paris to ensure the sale of jewels seized during the Russian Revolution. There, she encounters a member of the decadent bourgeois, Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas). Leon eventually leaves his paramour, the Grand Duchess Swana, original owner of said jewels, for the icy Ninotchka – who seems to be melting under his joie de vivre.

Politically, it's a unique moment in time for the United States. She's wary but not yet fearful of the Soviet Union; not yet an ally, not yet a Cold War enemy. Free of all such pressures, and with the enormous talent that came to bear upon its creation, Ninotchka continues to delight.