The Importance of Posture and Gesture for the Performer in Relation to Greta Garbo From Camille

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The Importance of Posture and Gesture for the Performer in Relation to Greta Garbo From Camille

Camille, created in 1936, is universally acknowledged as one of the

most romantically atmospheric productions of al time.

The film begins with the scene being set as we are shown “the gay

half-world of Paris, the gentlemen of the day met the girls of the

moment at certain theatres, balls and gambling clubs, where the code

was discretion - - but the game was romance. This is the story of one

of those pretty creatures who lived on the quicksand’s of popularity -

- Marguerite Gautier, who brightened her wit with champagne - and

sometimes her eyes with tears.”

Camille” tells the story of a beautiful but fatefully ill French

courtesan named Marguerite Gautier and her love affair with the

handsome young Armand Duval in 1840's Paris.

Greta Garbo gives a compelling performance of a courtesan, ensnared

within a materialistic world in which contentment and love seem out of

her grasp. Ironically, when she falls in love and begins to build a

new life, we discover that it is as tragically delicate as the flowers

that resemble her so perfectly. We observe an irony in the way that

she is dependant on the favours of rich admirers to maintain her

expensive lavish lifestyle, she can have everything, but love becomes

the only luxury that she cannot afford. She can barely afford these

luxuries “…but I want them”.

As the first scene begins, we are presented with a horse drawn

carriage that stops before a Parisian flower shop. The proprietress of

the establishment hurriedly gathers a beautiful bouquet of camellias

and presents them to the outstretch...

... middle of paper ...

...isputably one of Greta Garbo's touchstone

accomplishments. Her beauty and talent transcend throughout the film.

It is through her gestures and her postures, her face and her

expression and through her undisputable flair on screen, that we are

fortunate enough to experience Great Garbo in one of her most

stunningly famous and unforgettably flawless performances, within

“Camille”.

Bibliography

§ How Movies Work ; Bruce Kawin, 1992, University of California Press

Websites

§ www.imdb.com/name/nm0001256/ - 39k – Greta Garbo

§ www.filmsite.org/cami2.html - 26k - 13 Nov 2004 – Camille 1936

§ www.crazy4cinema.com/Review/FilmsC/f_camille.html - Camille

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[1] 217.206.205.24/compower/pdfversion/cpimages/I012.pd, Gestures and

Postures

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