GLORIA (review)

GLORIA

Starring Paulina Garcia and Sergio Hernandez

Sebastian Lelio’s GLORIA follows Paulina Garcia in a fearless performance as the title character. Gloria is in her late fifties and refuses to let that slow her down. The film opens with Gloria at a disco, filled with middle aged men and woman, as she sits alone at the bar, and then continues to dance alone on the dance floor. This is how Gloria spends many of her nights, though not always alone. Men often approach Gloria at the nightclub, she talks to them, drinks with them, and sometimes, more often than not, sleeps with them. This is until one night, when Gloria meets Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez), a man who finally makes her want to settle down after being divorced for 12 years.

GLORIA is unexpected fun, a feel good film. Gloria is a fantastic character, one who we don’t see enough of in films about older women. Garcia is absolutely wonderful in this role, which won her the Silver Bear award for acting at the Berlinale film festival. The audience adores her from the first frame, and we root for he until the last, as she dances to the 1980’s song bearing her name. Lelio and his actors are not afraid to show the honest truth of aging. He shows us his actors nude, in broad daylight, as they truly are, showing wrinkles, cellulite, and other body traits that come with growing older. Garcia is very brave to have taken on a role like this, and thank god she did. GLORIA is an amazing film that shows us that in life, dancing alone, and never stopping, can be liberating, and sometimes so much better than dancing with someone.

Your turn!

How many sheep would you give Gloria?

[kkstarratings]