Very disappointing...

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

How sad is this?

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Rightly tapping into the cliché of middle-age solitude, GLORIA, the up-and-coming Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio's Golden Bear contender (rightfully won its leading actress Paulina García a coveted BEST ACTRSS gong), is a brutally honest take on our titular heroine's stagnated status quo and her inexorable endeavor to break it. A petit bourgeois divorcée, Gloria (García) is in her 50s and has stayed single over a decade, she has a stable office job, the relations with her grown-up children have become distant inevitably through time and she frequents a club tailoring maturer clientele to seek some new spark in her inert life, that's where she meets Rodolfo (Hernández), a retired navy officer and a blow-in of the divorcé club. Physically, their sparkle is incandescent, by way of a daringly hardcore directness in their one-night-stand (and many intimate occasions would follow), Lelio brings home to audience that as unprepossessing as their act seems by the standard of common aesthetics, that is what sex looks like at that age: flabby flesh, furrowed face, unwieldy posture, yet, nothing can possibly take away the carnal sensation the process engenders, and granted not everyone is bestowed with that privilege in their autumn years. That said, there is always a catch in the passion-kindled romance when it passes the initial stage of purely physical attraction towards something more personal and complicated, something is detrimental to the budding relationship. In this case and according to Rodolfo, it is his over- dependent adult daughters, but in the event, after being wantonly stiffed by him not once but twice (the first is a misstep to bring him to her son's birthday party where her ex-husband is also present, and the second is a much more invidious hammer blow), Gloria realizes that this umbilical cord is bilateral, or even worse, insinuated by the last appearance of Rodolfo, decked and peppered by Gloria's vengeful paintball pellets, maybe his side of the story is a total whopper, that is what one calls a superbly orchestrated open-ending eliciting a viewer's afterthought. Through and through, Lelio levels his camera to the indefatigable Gloria, accentuates the emotional spectrum through a much trodden path, and crystallizes the cathartic moments with sublimely figurative strokes (let it be the dancing skeleton metaphor, a thinly-veiled political snapshot in the background or that precious white peacock knockout), often with optimal diegetic music choices (sometimes played lyrically through real-life musician Hugo Moraga), culminated by Umberto Tozzi's erstwhile hit GLORIA, trenchantly hits the bull's eye with its rousing tempo and significative pertinence, that is the damn theme song and a tribute to our heroine and gazillions of women like her in the real world, sidelined and often slighted by this ageist and sexist society, but never subjugates themselves to victimology, instead, they are absolutely faithful to what their hearts desire and never flinch back by the sporadic impediments. Meanwhile, it is also a hard-won victory for the central players, Paulina García deserves all the acclaim she garners for a bold but minutely precise, unmannered yet immensely visceral tour-de- force, which sets a high bar for its slated USA rehash, directed by Lelio himself and starring Julianne Moore. And last but not the least, Sergio Hernández, impresses viewers with equal dedication and beguiles us with his seemingly benevolent and passionate efforts, which speaks volumes about a callous male ego, there is an abuser underneath a commoner's camouflage, soundly punches above its weight in this emphatic feminist chord-striker.

Many will definitely find this too slow or boring, but to call such a realistic film "boring" is to deny the very existence of our lives. It's realistic, almost to a fault, about a relationship that seems to have problems in very unexpected, different ways than what we're used to. Paulina Garcia really is fantastic here, holding the emotional chords of the film well and keeping it great balance between everything happening on screen. She's moving and deeply effective with just a look, definitely a fantastic performance. The film around her is very good, good enough to withhold such great work. Definitely recommended, good for a watch and sure to stay with some people.

After reading many glowing reviews of this film, I had quite high expectations. In truth, I was ready to toss those high hopes out the window, as the film seemed to be more and more difficult to watch as an exercise in sadness. However, after thinking about it and being blown away by the last 20 minutes of the movie, I came down on the side that it was an inspiring and powerful experience.Paulina Garcia, as Gloria, is magnificent and mesmerizing here as an attractive but terribly lonely middle-aged Chilean woman, who frequents some of the local dance clubs. It's here that one night she meets Rodolfo, who is very strongly portrayed by Sergio Hernandez. They're immediately attracted to each other and quickly begin a relationship.Unfortunately, Rodolfo turns out to be a rather despicable character, who's more interested in being completely enmeshed and co-dependent with his ex-wife and their two daughters, than in developing an adult relationship with Gloria. Even though Gloria sees the "handwriting on the wall" she has to decide whether she will succumb to this hurtful environment or return to her lonely existence.I thought this movie, directed and co-written ( with Gonzalo Maza) by Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio, lost its' way at times and became difficult to watch. Also, I thought the explicit sex scenes and graphic nudity seemed to be more often done for effect than anything else.However, Garcia's incredible performance proved to be the key for me here, as her portrayal of Gloria gave me a strong feeling of her bravery and this movie has been one I've thought about well after it was over.

Age is just a number & you're never too old to stop following what the heart desires. Gloria centres on a divorced but free-spirited old woman who is trying to beat the loneliness & old age by going to singles' parties where she meets a former naval officer with whom she becomes romantically involved with & even dreams of a permanent relationship. But things aren't really as simple as they seem on the surface which later forces Gloria to confront her own secrets.This was the Chilean entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards & although it didn't impress me apart from a couple of things, there are many moments that'll make its viewers' smile. The best thing about Gloria is the character arc of Gloria herself, which is eminently illustrated on the screen by Paulina García in what is a scintillating & show- sweeping performance. The other thing I liked about it was the use of music.On an overall scale, Gloria can be viewed as a coming-of-age story set in old age & on a superficial level is simply about the celebration of life. Paulina García is definitely the best thing about this film but that doesn't mean its other aspects are a let-down by any means. The direction is fine, the script is intriguing but all these didn't really ring any bell like I was expecting it to but I do admire what it was trying to express.A good film that promises a fun ride but stumbles a little during its middle act, Gloria is by no means a great film but then by no means it's bad either. It didn't work for me but the story it has is pretty satisfactory for a mainstream audience.