Year: 2023

Runtime: 83 minutes

Director/Writer: Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq

Actors: Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ilça Moreno Zego, Abnara Gomes Varela, Fredy Gomes Tavares, Arnaud Rebotini

By Joan Amenn

There is nothing like the intimacy of the love between a mother and child, even when the woman in question is not biologically the child’s mother. “Ama Gloria” is a beautifully shot character study of a remarkable woman, Gloria (Ilça Moreno Zego) who gives her heart completely to little Cleo (utterly charming Louise Mauroy-Panzani) in Paris even as her own children await her return to impoverished Cape Verde.

It seems to be a trend in current independent filmmaking to incorporate animated sequences in live action film. I wholeheartedly support this hybrid form of storytelling, especially when it is as expressive as the lovely art set in motion in “Ama Gloria.” Suggesting the Impressionists in the simple forms and quick brush strokes that capture the beauty of the lush islands of Cape Verde off of the coast of Africa, or the first steps of a toddler left to the care of a kindhearted nanny, the animation is the emotional key to this film. Little Cleo is the locked diary that that key opens to reveal the inner life of a child dependent on the love of an adult who has family and responsibilities elsewhere.

“Ama Gloria” does not provide any surprises in its simple story of love and loss, but it is nonetheless a lovely journey to a child’s first steps into growing up. Cinematographer Inés Tabarin creates a wonderful contrast between the urban decay of modern Paris and the verdant but poor villages of Gloria’s native land. If little Cleo doesn’t steal your heart in the first twenty minutes of the film, you need to check your pulse.