ÀMA GLORIA

With tiny, delicate brushstrokes, director Marie Amachoukeli paints an incredibly accurate and poignant picture (without any heavy-handedness) which is inspired in the simple way it singles out subtle yet incredibly crucial moments: a movement, a look, an ordinary situation which resonates inside of us.

Shot in very close proximity to the characters, this highly sensitive exposé of the various states of mind experienced by a little girl who’s discovering the world (without grasping all the issues involved) and slowly realizing that it doesn’t revolve around her, exudes a charm which is both firmly controlled and crystal clear. The film owes much of its success to its two main actresses, but it also offers up dreamlike, animated interludes, perhaps to remind us that in early childhood, the unconscious and reality come together and intertwine to form an incredibly colorful imaginary world in perpetual motion, like the Cape Verde sea.