Gloria
As director Sebastian Lelio explained in the q & a following the screening of his 2013 film Gloria , he aimed to create a film firmly and emphatically centered on an aging woman, a figure so often sidelined in cinema. Lelio therefore built the film around actress Paulina Garcia and upon seeing the film it is obvious why, with Garcia delivering an extraordinary performance as the complex but consistently likeable Gloria. Gloria is depicted as an unpredictable and compulsive character whose desire to find love and companionship results in a constant struggle with an unreliable and fragile family and a similarly unpredictable lover in Rodolfo (perfectly played in a heartbreakingly comical fashion by Sergio Hernandez). However, lying within Gloria is a warmth and optimism for life that makes her impossible to dislike. All these qualities are wonderfully balanced in Garcia's fantastic performance, proving once and for all that older women deserve a lar...