MATA HARI's main interest is the great Greta Garbo and she does deliver a very sound performance, if not exactly a match for CAMILLE or QUEEN Christina. As a woman of exceptional beauty and elegance, I can imagine that most men must have been besotted by her in the 1930s.
The story is more about love than history (which it does not bother to follow with any degree of accuracy), and it makes no judgment about espionage, apart from a chief spy saying that death is the only way to leave the "profession".
Acting, direction and photography are generally competent, considering what was happening in the cinema in 1931. The only drawback -- from my standpoint -- is Ramon Novarro, who comes across as rather weak (I believe GG did not want him as the male lead, and you can see why).
If you are willing to cast your mind back to 1931 and to suspend your disbelief, there is much to enjoy in this picture.
The story is more about love than history (which it does not bother to follow with any degree of accuracy), and it makes no judgment about espionage, apart from a chief spy saying that death is the only way to leave the "profession".
Acting, direction and photography are generally competent, considering what was happening in the cinema in 1931. The only drawback -- from my standpoint -- is Ramon Novarro, who comes across as rather weak (I believe GG did not want him as the male lead, and you can see why).
If you are willing to cast your mind back to 1931 and to suspend your disbelief, there is much to enjoy in this picture.