Gloria

It is rare to find female portraits of real women, with all their imperfections, vulnerabilities, as well as their strength and courage. I have seen many movies trying to represent the female universe, but "Gloria" is in my opinion one of the most accurate, honest, real I have ever seen. In his picture there's not a single cliché , or pathetic, or melodramatic moment and the merit is to be given to Paulina Garcià who proves superb, she does not represent , she is a real woman, as if she were not playing. She offers such a variety of expressions, gestures , evidence of a great talent, her moments of joy are as intense as her down ones, proving always so charismatic and real. In the end we stay disarmed in front of this woman, who lives her sometimes desperate search for life in front of us, and we cannot but sympathize, smile, cry and feel with her. But her merit is shared by the director, quite significantly a man, and a young man, surprisingly capable of offering a very sensitive and mature view of the female world, and an equally honest view of a rather miserable male universe.

"Gloria" (2013 release from Chile; 100 min.) brings the story of Gloria (played by Paulina Garcia), a fifty-something divorced woman. As the movie opens, we find Gloria in a dance club with Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" blasting away. Gloria is alone, but certainly not lonely. She loves to dance, and she attracts the attention of others. Pretty soon, Gloria makes the acquaintance of Rodolfo, a sixty-something who is also divorced, yet emotionally still close to his ex-wife and even more so his two grown daughters. Meanwhile, we get to also know Gloria's grown kids: her son Pedro is taking care of a new baby, and her daughter Ana is involved with her boyfriend from Sweden. To tell you much more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several comments: first, this is one great 'little' movie about the free-spirited Gloria. One can't help but marvel at the "joie de vivre" which Gloria lives by, even if things are not always easy or don't always go her way. Second, what can you say about the towering performance from Paulina Garcia in the title role! She is in virtually every frame of the movie, and she will blow you away. She brings a daring performance on every level. Co-star Sergio Hernandez as romantic interest Rodolfo is pretty good too. Beware: there are a number of nude scenes between these two, which may make uncomfortable viewing for some. I must say that I am surprised--and disappointed--that Paulina Garcia, who has won a number of international prizes for this performance (including "Best Actress" at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival, where this movie premiered), did not even get nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Third, there are a couple of key scenes in the movie that will stay with you, none better in my opinion than the awkward family reunion on Pedro's birthday, with Gloria's ex-husband and his new wife, and Gloria introducing Rodolfo to her family for the first time. Just watch what happens. Last but not least: there is a ton of great music in the movie, including of course Umberto Tozzi's late 70s classic "Gloria" (Laura Branigan's cover version a few years later became a monster hit in the US).

This movie reminded me of the 1978 classic "An Unmarried Woman" starring Jill Clayburgh (I think she even won the Best Actress Oscar for this). Certainly these two movies are similar in spirit, if nothing else. "Gloria" opened last weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and when I went to see it this weekend, the matinée screening was surprisingly well attended, which is great news. If you are in the mood for a top-notch foreign movie with stellar performances, you cannot go wrong with this. "Gloria" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Greetings again from the darkness. One of my favorite comparison points with non-U.S. films is to imagine how Hollywood might take the same story and twist it for mass appeal. It's pretty easy to imagine this one as a flat-out comedy with Diane Keaton or Goldie Hawn in the lead. Chilean writer/director Sebastian Lelio takes a much more interesting approach giving us a real world perspective on a divorced middle-aged woman seeking companionship and emotional fulfillment.

Paulina Garcia plays Gloria, a professional woman who embraces the free-spirited lifestyle that being long divorced allows. She has two adult children who are doing just fine in life, and a neighbor with noisy habits and a bothersome hairless cat. Gloria enjoys singing outloud to the car radio, and drinking and dancing at a local nightclub while maintaining hope that a worthy life companion is still in the cards. In other words, she is neither superwoman nor emotional train wreck. And thanks to the exceptional talents of Ms. Garcia, we are drawn to Gloria and care what happens.

We witness Gloria's flirtatious glances across the dance floor to Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez). We next witness a middle-aged bedroom encounter that doesn't take advantage of the body-double directory. Once the girdle is removed (his), the two adults enjoy the moment, while vividly reminding us that all actors (and certainly all people) don't look like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Companionship has always been based on emotions, not aesthetics ... despite Hollywood's efforts to prove otherwise.

One of the more interesting aspects of following the relationship between Rodolfo and Gloria is that, in life, we all carry baggage. Sometimes our own baggage is easier to deal with than that of others. The birthday party for Gloria's son and the ongoing crisis with Rodolfo's ex-wife and daughters convey just how difficult it can be to recognize the effects of such scenarios.

The class of this sub-genre is the 1978 film "An Unmarried Woman" with Jill Clayburgh. Of course, in that one, Ms. Clayburgh was significantly younger than the Gloria character here. Still, some of the obstacles are similar and both feature terrific lead performances from actresses. The role of music in Gloria's life is especially poignant. At one party, there is a wonderful duet of "Aquas de Marco" (Waters of March) originally written by Antonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim. The song and the movie are about the daily progressions of life. The ending is especially spot on thanks to the original version of "Gloria" by Umberto Tozzi (re-made in the U.S. by Laura Branigan).

It's quite easy to view this story through Gloria's eyes and fully understand her "grow some" comment. However, for a different perspective, try looking at things through Rodolfo's eyes. Maybe Gloria is a bit more self-centered than what she appears at first glance. There are a couple of scenes ... the mirror and the peacock ... that hint at this same ideal. This appears to be Mr. Lelio's way of telling us that life is just not that simple and that we all have defense mechanisms that impact how we are perceived by others. It's just not as clear-cut as the initial reaction.

This film portraits the daily life of Gloria, an average Chilean divorced 50-something woman. The plot as such may not seem exciting or innovative at first but the character of Gloria makes up for it all. We are invited to share the way Gloria confronts different situations in her life, and we are blown away by her passion, sense of humor and independence. It may be telling that even several days after watching the film I find myself thinking about Gloria and smiling. An honest portrait that runs smoothly thanks the superb acting of the main character and the right combination of scenery and soundtrack. Highly recommended.

Gloria Cumplido (Paulina García) is a 58-year-old divorcée. She's generally friendly but deeply lonely. She does yoga. She goes to a dance club for older folks. She meets Rodolfo Fernández (Sergio Hernández) and immediately gets into a passionate sexual relationship. He refuses to let her meet his family. At her son's birthday dinner, he sneaks out without telling her. She is devastated and breaks up with him. She's diagnosed with glaucoma. She eventually tries again with Rodolfo but this time, he walks out on her at a restaurant while on vacation.

The most compelling aspect of this movie is that old people get naked and have single people sex. I guess that's unusual in the movie world. Gloria has a compelling long road of self discovery in this movie. Paulina García plays it a little too understated for my taste. I would have liked her to be more explosive and more urgent. The movie is generally slow and quiet. There are some sly humor but nothing that is laugh worthy. Also what's the deal with Rodolfo? It's the most confounding weird idiocy that he keeps walking out on her. If I was her, I would be wondering if he's delirious or suffered a head injury. I just don't get Rodolfo.