Set in Santiago, Chile, “Gloria” is about a divorced woman who is looking for love and excitement, but not at the expense of her self-respect. She is strong and determined to find joy in life, no matter what.
At times it’s highly comedic and other times it’s sad, but Gloria (Paulina García) is a character to root for. It’s easy to get inside her head and identify with what she is feeling because not only is García in every scene, she’s in every frame.
The movie premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival where García won the Silver Bear for best actress. It was selected as the Chilean entry for this year’s 86th Academy Awards in the category of best foreign language film. It didn’t make the cut, but I bet it was by a narrow margin because it sure has the chops.
“Gloria” also cleaned up at a number of film festivals including Toronto International, Vancouver International, Berlin International, Telluride, Hawaii and New York. If that isn’t enough to impress you, it’s also been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a London Film Critics’ Circle Award.
This shouldn’t be true, but it is: it’s surprising to see a woman in her 50s, who at certain angles looks like Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie, be so sexy. There is a fire in García that made the sex scenes smokin’ hot.
When she throws her boyfriend down on the bed and gets on top of him, it stirred up sex all over my body. There’s something so raw and honest about how she does her shagging. Full nudity and explicit boning. Mmm-hmm. Whoa, I better slow down here — I’m getting all worked up. I might just meet my hubby naked at the front door tonight. He won’t know what hit him.
Anyway! Gloria comes across as a good person, but flawed like all of us. She can be bratty at times, like when she gets so sick of her boyfriend being on his cell she drops it in his drink. Other times she is gloriously vibrant trying out adventurous activities like zip-lining, paint ball, laughing workshops and yoga. She has times of melancholy like all divorced people trying to get back out there. Most nights she heads out to nightclubs because she loves to dance, and she hopes to meet somebody. Gloria gets excited, greatly disappointed, sad, fiery and resilient.
She’s living life.
“Gloria” is directed by Sebastián Lelio and co-written by Sergio Hernández and Diego Fontecilla. Their sensitivities created a lovable character. She amused me and made me cry. I’d be proud to have her as a friend.
The movie “Gloria” is now playing in New York and Los Angeles and opens wide on Jan. 31. The film will be available on Blu-ray, Netflix, and DVD in June 2014. Drama with subtitles. Rated R. 110 minutes. Watch the trailer below.
