PODCAST | Sarah Bradbury interviews Sebastián Lelio, director of the film Gloria Bell.
We sit down with Academy-award winning Chilean writer-director Sebastián Lelio ahead of the release of Gloria Bell to find out how an English language cover version of his 2013 film Gloria came about with the fabulous Julianne Moore in the title role. He talks us through the process of revisiting his material with Moore, whose spell-binding performance the film rests on, how the other films he made in the interim, A Fantastic Woman and Disobedience, influenced his filmmaking style and the timeliness of the release of his remake.
Gloria Bell: Gloria Bell follows the everyday life of a middle-aged divorcee (Julianne Moore) living alone in LA who works in insurance, smokes, is kept on the outside of the lives of her grown-up children but finds her release in going out to dance. She starts a love affair with a man she meets in a club, Arnold (John Turturro), which opens her up to new experiences and sets her on a path of self-discovery. Julianne Moore is astonishing in her nuanced portrayal of Gloria in this remake of Sebastián Lelio’s 2013 original which is full of counteracting moments of precision and ambiguity, tragedy and humour. In exploring themes of freedom, sexuality, aging, feminity, the absurdity and beauty in the everyday, the film’s meandering narrative rarely provides straight answers but rather holds an overarching sentiment that in the face of life’s challenges, it’s best to keep on dancing.
The Lovers Film Festival celebrates 40 years with 70 films from 26 countries, international guests and tributes to LGBTQI+ cinema icons. Directed by Vladimir Luxuria, from 10 to 17 April at the Cinema Massimo in Turin.