Gloria (2013)

This was an exercise in watching the same movie in a different language with different actors. For me, it was basically the same. Except they don't use the English-language version of Gloria. Paulina Garcia is great but I felt like the tone was different in Spanish. It wasn't as funny in Spanish, or maybe I didn't get the humor in Spanish. That's probably on me.

Gloria Bell (2018)

I am familiar with La Mujer Fantastica, which has a similar use of light and the same enchanting use of music. That was my favorite part. Gloria Bell is a remake of the Chilean film Gloria that I hear is exactly the same, frame for frame, song for song, same crew and all.  I haven't seen the original but I don't really understand why this was necessary except as a vehicle for Julianne Moore. She is excellent and quite funny in a role that is rare for an actress of her age but that's beside the point. Did the director feel compelled to remake his own film in English? Is he saying something about universality?  Was an American audience not willing to watch a more culturally specific movie? Are older white singles really into Earth, Wind and Fire?

A Fantastic Woman (La Mujer Fantastica) (2017)

I saw this fabulous movie on a plane. I like to watch foreign movies on planes because otherwise foreign films are sometimes hard to find with subtitles. Daniela Vega is absolutely phenomenal. The story is a heartbreaking tale of a trans woman in Chile not being permitted to grieve the greatest loss of her life. But she is fierce and does not give up in the face of insults, humiliation, and physical assault. And there is this brilliant, surreal dance interlude in the middle.