1999 · rural · childhood · border

Glória

Directed by Manuela Viegas · 1h 42m · 1999

Gloria is set against the backdrop of a rural landscape slowly disappearing in modern Portugal. The small border town of Vila de Santiago, once a booming trade center for illegal trafficking, is about to become a ghost town, as a new motorway is to bypass the city and the railway station is being closed. Its stationmaster, Vincente, is preparing to retire. Many young people have moved out, leaving the children to be brought up by the elderly, including thirteen-year-old Glória and her friend Ivan. Glória's life suddenly changes with the arrival of Vincente's younger brother, Mauro, who has just come out of prison and has some old issues to settle. Mauro begins to charge around the station on his motorbike, while Glória's friendship with Ivan is put to test on account of her attraction to older Mauro.

Our read: Glória (1999) reads as a heavy, slow-burn, inventive rural · childhood · border entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.