Happiness from a broken heart It turns out that this happens when it comes to a person whose life is connected with art. Especially with acting. Even if he goes not on the famous big scenes, but on the modest provincial stage, it does not change anything. And when it comes to the actress, the contradictions are further aggravated by the numerous and mysterious metamorphoses of the female soul.
Just as in the case of the heroine of this, not the most famous, black and white film by George Cukor named Zaza - a singer and dancer, performing in various varieties and traveling with her colleagues in small cities of France of the last century. She is talented, knows how, as it has been said for some time, to “ignite” the public and therefore has success, which, however, did not spoil her, keeping inviolable wonderful spiritual qualities: kindness, responsiveness, readiness to help anyone who has fallen into a difficult situation both by word and by concrete action.
Of course, Zaza has many friends and fans. One of them is Dufresne, a rich gentleman from Paris. Their acquaintance, by no means accidental, but rigged by Zaza, becomes a key event in the plot of the picture, which begins as a typical melodrama with elements of adventure, but as the action develops, turns into a genuine drama.
This combination of genres is a gift for the main artists of the film, Herbert Marshall and Claudette Colbert. Especially for Dufresne Marshall, who we're used to seeing mostly as impeccable, noble men. Here he appears in a somewhat unexpected quality, “trying on” the image of a hero, though far from viciousness, but still quite contradictory in moral terms. But his reputation as a thin, delicate partner Marshall once again confirms, tactfully providing the palm of the championship Claudette Colbert, who shows here the qualities of an outstanding dramatic, moments and even a tragic actress, organically conveying a storm of emotions raging in the soul of her heroine.
After all, Zaza, hoping for a profitable easy affair with Dufresne, suddenly fell in love. Moreover, for the first time in her life, having tasted both sweetness and bitterness of a serious feeling, which allowed her to radically change, grow up internally, realize that not all means are good in the fight for the chosen one. And longing for home, for family, for children from now on for their own, not spontaneous, but deliberate, painful decision to “melt” into songs. Therefore, to fulfill one of his cherished desires - to become a great actress, the talent of which is able to appreciate only a select capital audience. And although to achieve albeit incomplete, but still happiness, she had to break her heart, but few of the servants of Melpomen and Thalia are given a lower price to rise to the top.
10 out of 10