Mata Hari (1932)

"mata hari" is one of early vehicles for greta garbo in her sound stage, but the tale within the movie is entirely fictional despite there's truly a courtesan named mata hari existed in french history. in reality, the promiscuous courtesan who introduces hindu mysticism in her luring dances is simply a sappy lewd woman who naively assumes she could cheat german and french bureaus without offering any spy service, so she's caught to be made as an example despite she committed no actual treasury against france during wwi. but greta gabo's cinematic interpretation gives "mata hari" a subtext of feminism. garbo's mata hari is a real german spy with shrewd intelligence to utilize her own sex appeal to obtain secret information by infiltrating the french bureau until she falls head over heels in love with the russian pilot played by ramon navaro...so she loses her usual composure then slips away into fatal exposure, incurring the doom of her own execution.

mata hari in historical reality is more of a kept prostitute for the idle riches, a woman who masters in life of luxury by the favors of men. she could be deemed as feminist more from an assertive perspective of sexual liberation, cut loose from conventional confinement of female virtues, a dionysian figure of individualistic self-indulgence. except this aspect, mata hari is simply a higher class whore who is unjustly punished for her careless mistake.

BUT garbo's incarnation as mata hari would be more like a professional woman who is skillful enough to serve her duty as a spy, and also intelligent enough to dodge the governmental prying eyes, a modern woman with wits and charm to evolve her social status into the deity of men, dominating men with her allure meanwhile she belongs to no one but herself. when she chooses to love, she dives into the pit of amour relentlessly. as approaching her own demise, her face is glowing with the ecstasy of passion, her lips parted, repentless with her transient but sparkling life of gaiety.

the movie treats mata hari with ultimate sacredness as ramon navaro exclaims "i adore you almost like i adore all the sacred things in life", and it presents a highly idealized contour of the divine woman whose love is precious enough to die for. but still, she's humanized into the martyr of man's love, a romanticist who would rather sacrifice herself to save her beloved. they're larger-than-life tales of romanticism since 30s audience craves for the dreamy escapism to shudder from the grim depression then. in contemporary standard, they all appear corny and preposterous to cynicists.

the most phenomenal achievement for "mata hari" belongs to the costume design of adrian who dubs greta garbo with numerous head gears which are allegedly furnaced by garbo's lesbian admirer mercedes de acosta who also had a fling with marlene dietrich.

movies like "mata hari" which manifests women in a lofty and respectful light could sell because women then still held a mystic glitter to men, and female sex appeal remained as something men desire to conquer and linger with yearnings just like coveting someone without onanistic release. (pardon the expression)...nowadays it's more like incessant onanism which leaves you callous since sex is overflown everywhere.