The Age of Commercialism

I'll tell you why so serious

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

As a classic film buff, age 57, I had never even heard of "Conquest," but now I have discovered this neglected masterpiece. Obviously, some viewers can't get the point of the film. If this sort of reaction was typical at the time of the film's release, and if audiences could not grasp Garbo's increasingly sophisticated choice of roles in "Ninotchka" and "Two-Faced Woman," the fact that she retired so early in her career becomes less of a mystery.Immediately after the Opening Credits, the text on the screen explains that this is the story of a love affair, not a historical dramatization.What is very surprising is that this affair began in a very striking way, which is never discussed, but rather ignored, or even distorted, in plot summaries. It presents an unflinching portrayal of loveless passion and loveless betrayal, and perhaps is too realistic to be welcome in a culture which glorifies the consummation of physical passion as an end in itself.Early in the picture, Garbo is an honorable married woman who has refused Napoleon's attentions and illicit overtures. She finally accepts a mission urged upon her by desperate Polish patriots, to use her feminine attractions as an inducement to prevail upon Napoleon to guarantee her country's independence. In a private audience with the Emperor, she declines the role of seductress and instead eloquently pleads her cause. But not only is her request ignored, but she is forced against her will to submit to him.All this is presented dramatically with great taste and subtlety, but the sober humiliation of her defeat is written all over Garbo's face at the beginning of the next scene. Stoically, she must then suffer even further as her older husband, robbed at once of his pride and the joy of his marriage, announces he will annul their union, and she will never see him again. There is a clear time lapse until her next meeting with the man who has ruined her life."Conquest" does not become a romance, there are no swelling chords in the film score, there are no breathless avowals of rapture in the film at all until Napoleon's exercise of power - naked, self-absorbed, egotistical power, in this case over a woman - is replaced by the finer feelings of a man who has recognized shamefacedly his own weakness and comes to value someone who can offer him both forgiveness and love.The tragedy of power, turning eventually in Napoleon's make-up into blind megalomania, brilliantly portrayed by Charles Boyer, is treated expertly in the second half of the movie, although some reviewers have criticized this section as boring and slow-moving. On this basis, mercilessly probing psychological dramas such as "Macbeth" and "King Lear" are also a waste of time.Napoleon sees, but does not see, the self-sacrificing courage of the young revolutionary who attempts to kill him. He sees, but does not see, Garbo's shocked disillusionment at his cold-blooded calculations for a royal marriage. He sees, but does not see, the final, heartsick, angry despair of a dying soldier on the doomed, frozen march from Russia.And he sees, but does not see, his adjutant's wide-eyed expression, bordering on accusation, as the ship carrying Garbo and her son plows through rough seas leaving Elba. Napoleon has cut short her visit of reconciliation to send her on an errand to his secret allies, knowing that the carrier of his previous message has been murdered.The bottom line of "Conquest" is that a deeply-abiding, human love relationship co-exists with human frailty, and it is transfigured by human loyalty. In the lives of two people who are truly committed to each other, these and other disparate elements are the hidden currents. The world only sees a couple from the outside. The genius of Clarence Brown's production, and that of any creative artist approaching this classic theme, is to reveal the mystery of all these complexities and many dimensions, with the utmost sensitivity and respect.This is one of those films which is worth several viewings. It is for grown-ups. It is a truly beautiful piece of work by all concerned.

This film reminded me of another MGM costume drama--MARIE ANTOINETTE. Both were late 30s MGM epics with lavish costumes and the full MGM treatment (the typical high-budget music, dialog, pacing, direction, etc.). And, both were pretty boring--at least to me. Now I know these films were well-received at the time and they both starred MGM divas (Norma Shearer in MARIE ANTOINETTE and Greta Garbo in CONQUEST), but didn't change the fact that these were very stagy and unengaging films. To put this in some perspective, I love movies from Hollywoods Golden Age and I am a history teacher and I still was bored to tears by the films. I think it is films like these that got students to really hate history! My advice--watch a documentary about Napoleon or watch a romance but don't combine the two into a static and unappealing film like this.

Married Polish countess, Marie Walewska, falls in love with Napoleon Bonaparte, savior of her country. They engage in a passionate relationship lasting until his divorce from Empress Josephine is finalized and he is persuaded to marry into the Habsburg dynasty for political reasons.I watched this movie on Greta Garbo's 100th anniversary, and am moved to remark on her progress as an actress. I admired her fluidity as a screen presence, but she really came into her own in the mid-30s with great performances in 'Camille', 'Anna Karenina' and in 'Conquest'. Of course she looks awesome and wears a costume like no one else, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Just watch the marvelous scene in 'Conquest', where she, as the noble countess, greets her brother after a long separation. He comments on her hair which has grown longer, making it hard to pull, and she giggles and shrieks as they chase each other through the hallway. This is the most liberated Garbo ever was, and she is adorable.Charles Boyer is not to be outdid as Napoleon, and he has the meatier part of the two. He is mischievous and arrogant, impetuous and playful. You see the tyrant in Boyer's performance, just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed. His speech to Walewska about his dream of a United States of Europe obviously demands heightened interest in this day and age, and the quiet intensity, even solemnity of Boyer's delivery is brilliant. "I have signed many treaties, but this is the first time I am at peace", he tells her. Boyer's performance is many-layered and complex, neither hero nor scoundrel. Just very, very human.This has got to be director Clarence Brown's best film. I really liked 'The Eagle', his sprawling silent epic with Rudolph Valentino, but as a rule I find his other Garbo pictures, 'Anna Karenina' first and foremost, vapid and lifeless.I love a picture like 'Conquest' that affords detail in abundance, and I especially loved Maria Ouspensaya as Walewska' aging and dotty sister in-law who remembers nothing of the past 40 years. When she meets Napoleon in the parlor and he presents himself, incredulously, as the Empress of France, she smiles with tolerance, "This house is getting to be an insane asylum", she sighs, slightly scandalized. "Everybody who goes crazy thinks he is Alexander. If Alexander went crazy, who would he think he was?". "Napoleon, madame?", Boyer suggests.Watch it. And watch out for its release on DVD.

This has to be one of the most intelligent movies exploring the theme of power and its corrupting effects upon love. Napoleon (admirably played by Charles Boyer) is not shown as a complete monster or idealist, but as a man who gradually loses his humanity as he becomes consumed with dreams of universal power. Even at the end, he rejects a woman's love in order to become a legend, exiled alone in St. Helena.Greta Garbo does a really stirring job as the woman (Countess Marie Walewska) who genuinely loves him just for being a human being, and is distressed to see him corrupted by increasing dreams of worldwide domination, founding a new dynasty, etc. It is remarkable how she manages to avoid romantic clichés and deal in direct and honest fashion. In this respect, the movie seems remarkably modern.I really recommend this film to anyone interested in human relationships, not just French history. Garbo, as always, is as intelligent and humane as she is sexy, and has many interesting things to say. I still reckon her best performance is in Queen Christina, still this is not far short of it. You can feel the decades melting away just listening to her.