Uncertain Glory (2017 film)

Uncertain Glory (Catalan: Incerta glòria) is a 2017 Spanish drama film directed by Agustí Villaronga based on the eponymous novel by Joan Sales. Shot in Catalan, its cast is led by Marcel Borràs, Núria Prims, Oriol Pla and Bruna Cusí.

Uncertain Glory
Catalan film poster
Catalan	Incerta glòria
Directed by	Agustí Villaronga
Screenplay by	Agustí Villaronga Coral Cruz
Based on	Uncertain Glory by Joan Sales
Produced by	Isona Passola
Starring	Marcel Borràs Núria Prims Oriol Pla Bruna Cusí Luisa Gavasa Terele Pávez Fernando Esteso Juan Diego
Production companies	Massa d'Or Produccions Televisió de Catalunya
Distributed by	Alfa Pictures
Release date	17 March 2017 (2017-03-17) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Catalan

Plot

Set in 1937, with the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, a young Republican officer becomes infatuated with a mysterious widow.

Cast

• Marcel Borràs [es] as Lluís^[1]
• Núria Prims as Carlana^[1]
• Oriol Pla as Soleràs^[1]
• Bruna Cusí as Trini^[1]
• Luisa Gavasa as tia Olerana^[1]
• Fernando Esteso as moliner^[1]
• Terele Pávez as molinera^[1]
• Juan Diego as Cagorcio^[1]

Production

Based on the eponymous novel by Joan Sales, Uncertain Glory was written by the director Agustí Villaronga alongside Coral Cruz.^[2] Isona Passola took over production duties. It was produced by Massa D'or Produccions and Televisió de Catalunya (TVC) with the participation of RTVE, Movistar+ and Aragón TV and support from ICEC [ca] and ICAA.^[2] It was shot in 2016. Filming primarily took place in Aragon, as well as La Garriga and Barcelona.^[3]

Release

Distributed by Alfa Pictures,^[2] the film was theatrically released on 17 March 2017.^[4]

Reception

Quim Casas of El Periódico de Catalunya rated the film with 4 out of 5 stars, considering that Villaronga "splendidly directs" the cast, Núria Prims in particular.^[5] He deemed the war setting to have a secondary role in the plot, just as a device to switch everything else on: "a trail of conflicting feelings, affective hostilities, devastating sexual impulses, delusions, hatreds and quarrels, the seed of evil in its purest form".^[5]

Reviewing for Fotogramas, Pere Vall gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming Oriol Pla's emotional performance to be the best about the film while noting as a negative point that the plot featured some trip to Barcelona that could have dealt with as an ellipsis.^[6]

Toni Vall of Cinemanía scored 4 out of 5 stars, considering that the story tracking the five main characters "manages to transcend the purely historical sketch, taking possession of their souls, dissecting them and injecting cinema into them".^[7]

Javier Ocaña of El País deemed Uncertain Glory to be an "unquestionable" heir to Pa negre, a "fantastic production set in the rearguard of the Civil War", praising, in addition of Villaronga's craft, the cinematography, the production design, the "very risky" score and the cast.^[8]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	5th Feroz Awards	Best Actress (film)	Núria Prims	Nominated	[9]
		Best Supporting Actor (film)	Oriol Pla	Nominated
	10th Gaudí Awards	Best Film		Nominated	[10][11]
		Best Direction	Agustí Villaronga	Nominated
		Best Leading Actress	Núria Prims	Won
		Best Leading Actor	Marcel Borràs	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Bruna Cusí	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Oriol Pla	Won
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
		Best Production Supervision	Aleix Castellón	Won
		Best Art Direction		Nominated
		Best Editing		Nominated
		Best Original Score		Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Josep M. Civit	Won
		Best Costume Design	Mercè Paloma	Won
		Best Sound	Xavier Mas, Fernando Novillo & Ricard Galceran	Won
		Best Visual Effects	Manuel López Egea & Bernat Aragonés	Won
		Best Makeup and Hairstyles	Alma Casal	Won
	32nd Goya Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	Agustí Villaronga & Coral Cruz	Nominated	[12]
	27th Actors and Actresses Union Awards	Best Film Actor in a Minor Role	Jorge Usón	Won	[13]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2017