Ama Gloria

A little girl's nanny is forced to move to her home country, as her mother has just died. The nanny is from Cape Verde. For the little girl, this is a heartbreaker, as her mother has died, and her nanny is an important part of her life. Her father sends her to her nanny's house for the summer vacations, where she learns to live with the nanny's real children, and is confronted with her nanny's everyday life, whose concerns are different from her own, and her everyday life in another universe.

The film's greatest quality is the formidable Louise Mauroy-Panzani, as full of emotion and subtlety as the film itself. Even if the dramatic progression is not subtle, it's easy to guess: the dramatic cells maraud between each member of the family. His daughter, her son, the nanny herself, each always interacting with the little girl.

The film contains an interesting formal idea: the use of cartoons for the transitional montage sequences. This provokes the viewer's curiosity while advancing the drama. In eighty-three minutes, the director conveys a multitude of subjects and micro-dramas, without appearing slapdash, and often eliciting emotion from the viewer.

I really can't recommend this highly enough. This is a must-watch for anyone who has an understanding of children. The performances are exceptional, both the main actors being first-timers. This is mind-blowing in itself and the chemistry they generate is flawless. Huge accolades to all involved.

The storyline is simple enough, but the execution is outstanding, drawing on multiple themes, including immigration, grief and jealousy although it's a coming of age story at heart. It's short running time does not detract, but you'll want to watch them all day, so good are the performances. Be prepared to cry though. I'm not a cryer in pretty much any situation, but I have to be honest, both me and my partner were deeply affected by this. Anything involving children has the power to do this, in my opinion.

I would have liked to have seen a little more centred on the father and his feelings, although it could be read that his grief doesn't allow for this. Whatever, this is a moving and tender portrayal, with exquisite performances and tons of heart. Bravo!

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Filmmaker Marie Amachoukeli does a pretty good job on exploring the dynamics between child and nanny relationship through the child's perspective with strong ambitious tone, gorgeous camerawork and good performances from the cast members. The writing explores some pretty interesting themes which while some aspects were a little weak, have some good charms and emotions into the heart of the story.

The performances are pretty good as the main child performance was amazing. The characters were interesting although I wasn't fully emotionally connected with them. The camerawork is gorgeous and I found many of the dynamics and chemistry between the main two characters to be sweet and tender to observe. The biggest complaint was that due to the short runtime, certain aspects feel a little undeveloped and I wished they were explored more.

Overall, a good movie. French cinema really knows how to make some interesting and wonderful stories.

Beautifully shot.

Brilliantly acted

Louise Mauroy-Panzani is spellbinding as Cléo. Her chemistry with Ilça Moreno Zego (Gloria) is superb.

Some excellent and sublime moments which may create a lump in your throat - I certainly teared up.

My only reservation would be I'd have liked to know more about the father's story - his work, his wife how her death impacted him. And also that of Gloria's story - how she reconciled with leaving her own children behind and the impact it had. Futhermore, Gloria's relationship with Cléo's father.

An emotional and tender film which deserves all its accolades.

I'm so grateful I made the effort to watch this beauty of a film.

Despite the criticisms I have, it's still an amazing film.