One of the more heartbreaking things to witness in life is someone beyond middle age who thinks that life doesn’t still have the same treasures it did when that person was young, especially considering there are more things to do now, in 2013, than there ever were before. It's clearly resonated with Berlin International Film Festival audiences too, since they've been raving about the Chilean film Gloria, about a woman who refuses to give in to stereotypes about aging.
American audiences will get to experience Gloria in the relative near future, as The Hollywood Reporter says Roadside Attractions has attained the U.S. distribution rights for Chilean director Sebastian Lelio’s romantic drama, going so far as to have its buyers track down the film’s original producers at the post-premiere party on Sunday night. Roadside’s co-president Eric d'Arbeloff speaks highly of the film, saying, "We have all fallen in love with Gloria, and we think everyone else will too," It’s hard to argue with that kind of optimistic passion.
Gloria, set in modern-day Santiago, features an acclaimed performance from Paulina Garcia as a 58-year-old woman living her life to the fullest, often kicking up her dancing shoes in nightclubs. In one of these clubs she meets a 60-year old Navy officer (Sergio Hernandez) who wins her heart, though their relationship is put into question once reality sets in and their pasts come into the equation.
It usually takes a decent amount of adult-oriented subtext to get me interested in a romance of any kind, and Gloria sounds like it might just win me over, but something tells me my mom won’t be inspired to go dancing after I make her watch it.
