The “Gloria” movie is a genre in itself. Even Akira Kurosawa is full of praise.

"Gloria" Synopsis

Jack, a Puerto Rican man, lives with his family in an apartment in South Bronx, New York. Jack was an accountant for the Mafia, and after leaking information about the organization to the FBI, the whole family is brutally murdered. Just before that, Jack had left his son Phil in the care of Gloria, a middle-aged woman who lives in the same apartment, and Phil was the only one who survived. However, when the Mafia finds out that Phil had taken a major secret from the organization, they also begin to try to kill Gloria. Gloria, who hates children, tries to abandon Phil, but gradually her maternal instinct awakens. As they make their way through danger, a love similar to that of a mother and son begins to grow between the two, but...

Index

• From "Léon: The Professional" to Japanese films, the impact
• Unusually easy to watch for a Cassavetes film
• The child actor who made his first film appearance retired after this one movie.

From "Léon: The Professional" to Japanese films, the impact

Movies have general genres such as action, comedy, science fiction, love stories, etc. Genres can be further subdivided, and if you get down to it, you can group together several works like ``●●''.

For example, when describing the 2023 Japanese film " Revolver Lily ," the expression "a film like ' Gloria'" seemed to fit well. In Tokyo after the Great Kanto Earthquake, a secret agent played by Haruka Ayase continues to fight while protecting the only surviving boy whose family was killed by an organization. Although the country and era are different, the basics are the same as the 1980 American film "Gloria."

Another famous film that is considered to be "like Gloria" is Luc Besson's 1994 masterpiece " Léon: The Professional ." When 12-year-old Mathilde (Natalie Portman) has her entire family killed due to her father's drug-related troubles, she seeks help from Léon: The Professional(Jean Reno), a hitman who lives in the apartment next door. While protecting Mathilde, Léon: The Professional also teaches her how to fight. This is almost the same story as "Gloria."

"Gloria" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

In "Gloria," an accountant for a gangster organization embezzles a large sum of money and his life is put in danger, along with his family, except for his 6-year-old son Phil. Phil is entrusted with a notebook containing the organization's secrets, and goes on the run with Gloria, who lives in the same apartment building, but Gloria is also a woman with shady dealings with the organization... This is the same pattern as " Léon: The Professional ," with the genders reversed.

The 2010 Korean film `` Ajoshi, '' in which Won Bin starred, also follows in the footsteps of ``Gloria ,'' in which the story revolves around a girl who fights against a criminal organization to protect a neighborhood girl. There are also many other films that have a hint of Gloria , such as Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning's Man on Fire (2004). The setting is very different, but in the 1998 Brazilian film ` `Central Station, '' a masterpiece that was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, an elderly heroine takes care of a boy who lost his mother right in front of his eyes. I'm trying to send him to his father who lives in . There must be many people whose memories of `` Gloria'' overlap with their relationship.

They are not related by blood, but they protect a being that seems unable to survive on its own. Although at first the two do not understand each other, gradually an inseparable bond is formed, and the elder one's instinct to protect awakens, while the younger one learns how to live as an adult... This style of film may be a little far-fetched, but it would be good to name it a small genre, "films like ' Gloria'." That is how much the setting of ' Gloria' warms the hearts of viewers across time.

Unusually easy to watch for a Cassavetes film