greta garbo american film debut be an analogy of how our life can be sweep off course by fate and our action and a in a torrent and cause u to lose a part of ourselves along the way . greta play leonora and a poor peasant girl in love with ricardo cortez character don rafael and a landowner . ricardo be in love with her too and but be too easily influence by his domineer mother . leonora end up homeless and travel to paris and where she become a famous opera singer and develop the reputation for be a loose woman . in reality and part of her attitude be bitterness over rafael abandonment . she return to her home to visit her family and eventually confronts rafael . surprisingly and no one know that she the famous la brunna and and garbo act up her role a the diva she truly be and re prise with such cool haughtiness in her late portrayal . ricardo cortez remind one a lot of valentino in look in this part and and he be groom to be a valentino clone by mgm and though he never think he could be in reality and he be right . he be believable in an unsympathetic part a a weak willed mama boy and and allow himself to age realistically but comically at the end of the movie . he fail to win leonora when she return home and and later when he follow her and his courage be undermine . this movie be beautifully shot and with brilliant storm sequence and the set depict spain at the time be authentic look . there be also some fine secondary performance by old timer lucien littlefield and tully marshall and and mack swain . although this be a story of lose love and miss chance and i do not think leonora and rafael would have be happy together and a he need a more traditional wife and she be very much a career woman and and i do not think would have be happy in a small village . the end be true to life and pull no punch . see this one a garbo american film debut and a precursor of thing to come .