Gloria

Set in Santiago, Chile, Gloria revolves around the romantic travails of attractive, flirtatious, 58-year-old Gloria (Paulina García), who becomes involved with 60-ish Rodolfo (Sergio Hernández), a recently divorced owner of an arcade amusement park. Torn between family obligations and personal fulfillment, Rodolfo is obviously conflicted and clearly not ready for the kind of mature bond that Gloria wants. Opening in a crowded singles nightclub, we see bespectacled Gloria sitting at the bar, sipping champagne, puffing on a cigarette, and surveying the scene unfolding around her until she catches the eye of a man she knows and moves onto the dance floor. But the next morning and the morning after, she awakens alone—until meeting Rodolfo, who is immediately attracted to her. Rodolfo introduces Gloria to Vertigo Park, where men play war games, and alludes to the neediness of his ex-wife and two grown daughters who phone him incessantly and with whom he obviously has a co-dependent relationship. But Gloria also invites Rodolfo to a family birthday party, where she thoughtlessly ignores him, preferring to engage in nostalgia with her ex-husband and his new wife. Eventually, Rodolfo plans a romantic getaway to the beach resort of Viña del Mar. Filmmaker Sebastián Lelio's Gloria is dominated by the sensual complexity of the indomitable titular character, magnificently played by García, who won the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear Actress Award. An emotionally uplifting film that will be particularly appealing to a middle-aged audience, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes musical montage (3 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a winning foreign film.] (S. Granger)