Trouble in Paradise
I am not actually complaining that there are none of them, but considering that you can turn western or film noir/gangster movies into a genre, in theory you could totally do that with thieves. It’s a similar pattern – the characters are outlaws and their stories could be funny or tragic, and some of my most memorable film experiences were with such films. One of them was the best Chinese movie I have ever seen on an airplane, Yesterday Once More. Maybe my impression of it would be different if I saw the film today, but back in the day, I absolutely loved it. This film definitely needs a second viewing, so I should try to find out how to get my hands on it.
“Trouble in Paradise” is strangely similar to that story, except it involves a third woman, making it one of the unusual love triangles in screwball comedy. I don’t think I enjoyed the film as much as “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife” which made me laugh even more often, but that doesn’t mean that “Trouble in Paradise” did not meet my expectations. On the contrary, I felt the same fuzzy lightness and happiness as I do with literally every other great Lubitsch comedy. Lubitsch’s movies make me feel like life is immensely rich and enjoyable, that this feeling is the reason why I started watching movies in the first place.
Wikipedia qualifies the film as “pre-Code”. After reading what the Code entails, I am surprised to see so many elements in “Trouble in Paradise” – some socio-political criticism towards the rich, some gangsters and a lot of sex. A triangle love story only interesting if there is enough sexual investment involved, and this film shows plenty of it even without all that many actual kissing, let alone sex scenes. This is a bedroom comedy, but people get interrupted in their bedroom activities. Considering that Lubitsch loves these “rich people” and their frivolous love stories”, which I find somewhat reminiscent of Händel’s “Agrippina”, one of my favorite love comedies in opera, I think that there is a lot of truth in them. I enjoy the funny scenes even more when I can actually relate to the characters, and when I feel like they are realistic in some way. “Trouble in Paradise” definitely is even if nobody I know is a thief, and nobody I know (very well) is that rich.
Another thing I really liked about this film was its cast. I have never seen Miriam Hopkins before (though I am looking forward to seeing her in “Design for Living”, assuming that she will have a better role there) and loved Kay Francis as Madame Colet. She has a slightly strange look on her face, but it’s perhaps the acting that turns her into this attractive woman in every sense. Sexual innuendo lingers in every scene she is, even with those men who she doesn’t want to be with. Herbert Marshall’s Gaston was amusing but nothing out of the ordinary. It is definitely the women (and by the way, the side characters) who shine here.
“Trouble in Paradise” is a must-see for every Lubitsch fan, and I had a hard time comparing it to “Ninotchka” – they are just so different and I loved them both. Whenever I will come around it, I will probably see “Design for Living” next.
PS. The advisor has recently written something about writing scientific papers, and the example he uses is Hemingway. Specifically he says that one should not use commas, dedicate only one idea to only one sentence and not repeat yourself. As much as I love Hemingway, I also love Thomas Mann so I am not actually sure whether it is truly a good idea to write like Hemingway. There is a reason why language has given us the opportunity to write convoluted sentences, but it needs a master like Thomas Mann to make it readable. On the other hand, it takes a master like Hemingway to make a very bare style beautiful. So I guess you guys have to deal with my never-changing convoluted style.