Old black and white movies have a charm that is not easy to find again in nowadays, sophisticated films in full colour, overfilled with amazing special effects. This is a topic I would never be tired to treat, so, exactly to avoid the risk to be tedious, I put limits on myself. Self-censorship is the only acceptable form of censorship after all. Among many other I'm thinking now specifically of a film called "Grand Hotel", a 1932 American drama. In this movie, among all the other famous actors there is also the charismatic presence of Greta Garbo, who plays the role of a Russian dancer, Grusinskaya. She pronounces one of the most memorable movie quotes of all time: "I want to be alone; I just want to be alone".
This quote remained stuck on her like a label, because Garbo had always been very reserved and had avoided all public appearances as much as it was possible.
In reality Garbo declared about her private life, that she never said, 'I want to be alone'; she only said, 'I want to be let alone'. There is a world of difference.
If compared with the fever of incessant self-promotion which seems to be present in all social spheres nowadays, when people try hard to put themselves in the limelight by all means I think Garbo's attitude was of sublime elegance.
This quote remained stuck on her like a label, because Garbo had always been very reserved and had avoided all public appearances as much as it was possible.
In reality Garbo declared about her private life, that she never said, 'I want to be alone'; she only said, 'I want to be let alone'. There is a world of difference.
If compared with the fever of incessant self-promotion which seems to be present in all social spheres nowadays, when people try hard to put themselves in the limelight by all means I think Garbo's attitude was of sublime elegance.
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