One of the recurring features of successful movies and TV shows is well defined characters. Take for instance the example of Breaking Bad. Every character in it is so well defined that a spin-off based on a side character, Better Call Saul is equally engaging. I am sure spin-offs based on the characters of Mike or Nacho would be equally successful. Writers have various tricks up their sleeves for making characters memorable and one of them is the way you introduce a character.
Next time you watch a movie or a TV show, pay attention to how the main characters are introduced. Maybe they are answering a phone call and say their name and designation, maybe the camera zooms on a name plate on a door and we see the character inside working. But the introduction is much more than just a name. Often, the characters will be involved in an incidents that brings out their main qualities. In Sherlock Holmes movies or shows, the first incidence featuring the famous detective will often showcase his extraordinary abilities.
There are countless such examples where the goal of the writer is to introduce the character in minimum amount of screen time. As viewers we are also used to this so we kind of expect it. That’s why when a series comes along that violates this rule, it stands out.
Glória is a Portuguese spy series about Cold War. Even though it is a spy series, the presentation is understated to such an extent, that it even a John le Carré movie seems to have more action at times. The characters are not introduced in the usual way. They just go about living their lives, snatches of which are captured by the camera. You do not know how a character will behave until he or she actually behaves that way. This helps the story tremendously because it is a tale of moles, agents and double agents. As the story progresses, you come to know who is who but it keeps the tension as tight as a guitar string.
But Glória is so much more than this. It is a lesson in contemporary history. While watching it, I had to stop and google the references that made me appreciate it much better. It is based on a true story although parts of it may have been fictionalised.
Glória takes place in a small village in Portugal called Glória do Ribatejo. It follows the story of João Vidal (Miguel Nunes) who is a KGB spy. He works at RARET (RAdio de RETransmissão), a US-rebroadcasting station that is a branch of Radio Free Europe. It was mainly used by the CIA for broadcasting anti-communist material to Russia and other Eastern European countries.
Portugal in the 1960’s was a complex milieu of Portuguese authoritarian government caught between CIA trying to establish its dominance and the KGB trying to subvert the CIA. It’s a highly volatile environment where with agents and double agents everywhere. Normally, this situation would be a fertile ground to produce a high intensity, action-packed drama. Instead, Glória chooses to do the opposite. The drama part is understated to such an extent that it could almost pass off as a docudrama. There is a lot of violence but it is picturized in a very matter of fact manner and it happens without any warning. You see people behaving normally on the surface but you sense the undercurrents and add a rather chilling effect.
Glória is rich in its depiction of history. There is a passing reference to the humiliation of losing Goa to India, and many references to the ongoing war with Angola, both indicative of Portugal’s colonial history. 1Goa was liberated in 1961, just seven years before the timeline of Glória. The brutalities of the PIDE (the International and State Defense Police), a secret police force in Portugal at the time are matched by those of the KGB agents. João is asked by the Portugal government to spy on the CIA agents while he is working for the KGB. What follows is a tense drama with many twists and turns, rich with old school spy stuff of microfilms, recorders, and secret radio transmissions.
Glória is a fascinating portrayal of life in Portugal during the Cold War. It is streaming on Netflix.
