Gloria

Eight years had passed since the release of Autant-Lara's "Les Patates " which had met mixed critical reception.Although Autant-Lara died in 2000,"Gloria" (1977) was his last effort,and to many ,a sad and tatty end to a career that produced many classics of the FRench cinema.

"Gloria" was generally received with great hostility by French critics who regarded it as rubbish .Autant-Lara called it a day and the man who made "Douce" "Le Diable Au Corps" "L'Auberge Rouge "and "Tu Ne Tueras Point" allowed his prestige to be tacked on to many causes ,some clearly offensive.

Gloria and Jacques ,still children,are in love .But do not expect another "Peter Ibbetson"!It's a melodrama,and in the seventies ,could be considered an anachronism ,although AL had not lost all his flair for story-telling.Jacques and Gloria have to survive in those trouble times ,including WW1,the boy's emigration (in the US) and of course a serious illness .One remembers this scene when the crowds celebrate the armistice ,singing "La Marseillaise " with a Prima Donna dressed in red ,white and blue on the parapet of the opera house.It's a far cry from the impressive ending of "Le Diable Au Corps" (1947).