Viva

Viva

Viva

VIVA is so good that most will likely mistake it for an actual example of the stereotypical 70's genre sexploitation flick it so perfectly mimics. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real thing never looked so beautiful, or was so meticulously composed, or lovingly rendered. Daring, quirky, personal, utterly unique, the film transcends and surpasses the works it pretends to send up. Anna Biller's new and original voice, and incredible artistry make this an unforgettable feature length debut. If you can look past the blue eye shadow and filmy vintage negligees, you may discern a genuine aesthetic master. An amazing technical achievement, like watching a feminine Guy Madden photographing herself for a vintage centerfold pictorial. Neither period exploitation nor modern commercial multiplex filler, this film will no doubt baffle many, possibly most casual viewers.

I was introduced to VIVA from my friend at a screening event in the theater in LA. That was my first Anna Biller experience and since then I'm a huge fan of her works. After VIVA, I dug into her previous works including her short films "Three Examples of Myself as Queen" which I love so much! I highly recommend everyone to check out Anna's short films. She does everything from writing stories, designing costumes and sets, acting and directing whole things!? She is my favorite female film maker alive right now<3 p.s. my most favorite scene from VIVA was that orgy scene, which I think was a homage to the orgy scene from "Camille 2000" <3<3

This was the first movie that I had watched from this genre, so I'm not knowledgeable enough to give a full, professional review as I am not a movie critic, producer, or director. I am a just a movie goer interested in enjoyable, quality films. Although the genre appears to be an interesting one, I was not impressed with the movie itself. There may be other more enjoyable movies out there in the same genre. Or for that matter, this movie could be one of the best in this genre, which may be an indication why these types of movies are not mentioned or talk about in the mainstream media. I can express with great certainty that the editing could have been better as often there are instances when the screen goes dark for several seconds in between scenes, leaving the audience wondering what's next. However, it isn't a bad idea to experience something different, and this movie is definitely different from what we hear or see in the mainstream media.

I see a lot of movies and Viva is way out in front of the herd. Naked star-directors should be given extra points but Anna Biller has nothing to make up for. This woman is a major talent in a sea of lackluster Sundance-want-to-be's. Viva VIVA! The level of humor in this Seventies send-up is way beyond the average lowbrow laughs one might expect from your typical film comedy. Sexual mores are tossed about by the characters in this little shaggy dog script much like the original foot soldiers of the Sexual Revolution fell on those Seventies "naughty bits" that were exposed for the world to see. Viva's unrequited need to lose herself repeatedly in her healing bubble bath really had me stamping my feet and fighting back tears.

I can't believe people liked this movie!!! And believe me I'm not ignorant, I watch A lot of exploitation movies and film in general. Although this movie was meant as an homage, it seriously missed the mark. I think that it is such a rare thing when the whole 'directed by, produced, written, costumed and starring..' gimmick works and it only works when that person can act AND write (in my opinion she couldn't do either). There's a big difference between doing a send-off and making fun of the genre. The whole movie seemed like a giant 'stroke-fest' (like someone masturbating on film: solely for their own enjoyment and ego) where it was no accident that anyone with acting talent (or a better figure) were given minimal parts. Anna Biller cannot act- she's doing a really bad job of pretending to be a bad actor. (you know what they say; it takes a smart person to play dumb) AND please tell me someone else noticed the ugly faces she was making the ENTIRE movie?! That girl needs to spend some time in front of a mirror, practicing not doing that ever again. I did enjoy the orgy scene and the animation. I think if the movie were starring Robbin Ryan and Bridget Brno, it would have made for much better cinema. I may be starving for cinematic magic lately but, I'm not desperate enough to settle for less than fantastic. The musical numbers were sad and skimpy with the exception of Bridget Brno song in the bathtub. The 'two little girls from the suburbs' bugged me in a major way considering Viva couldn't touch Gentleman Prefer Blondes with a 100ft pole. The sets were good for the most part though inconsistent, as were the style and overall appearance of the film (sometimes it was bright and technicolor and sometimes muted.) Overall, I was just disappointed at what appeared to be a fantastic new movie but, ended up looking like a school project at times. That's what comes of thinking exploitation films look easy to make.

Never before has a modern film so perfectly succeeded in capturing the look, style and feel of the 70's Sexploitation classics. Anna Biller's "Viva" is an explosion of color, humor and schlock done to the nines, besting attempts made by far bigger-budgeted flicks like "Austin Powers" and "Grindhouse" in truly recreating a bygone era. It's a true skin-comedy epic that delivers everything the gorgeous promotional art promises, and will no doubt become a cult classic among those with a true affinity for well-done homage. I watched this with some friends and there were times when we had to actually stop the DVD because we were laughing so hard! The prostitution and nudist camp scenes are simply unbelievable. Highly recommended.

In VIVA, Anna Biller, who stars as well as writes and directs, achieves what many would consider highly improbable—a genuine sexploitation film that hearkens back to that genre's golden age of the seventies but is simultaneously an art film. Indeed, VIVA is so superbly crafted that it is sure to go down as a masterpiece of erotic cinema, alongside the likes of Metzger, Sarno, Oshima, Breillat and company. Biller has made a film that not only takes place in 1972, but is so painstakingly constructed that one feels it was made in 1972, only to be released this year from some "American International Pictures" styled vault. If that weren't enough, Biller did the art direction and costumes. Funky wood paneling, avocado macramé, blue eye shadow, shag carpeting, rust Dacron leisure suits, Lee Majors/ Evil Knievel styled jumpsuits, orgies and shady photo studios—it's all here, but don't let all of the period accuracy fool you. Andrei Tarkovsky noted there are two kinds of filmmakers – those who try and (re)create reality and those who create their own worlds; Biller is clearly in the latter camp, and she has to create a world because that is the only way she can get at the truths about relations between men and women, desire, identity, and the ravages of history on individual life. VIVA concerns the journey of a young married woman as she explores and in turn is tried by the sexual revolution. In the opening of the film the brunette Biller and her blonde sidekick cavort with each other and their respective husbands by a suburban swimming pool. While looking at Playboy, they pose for each other as much as for their husbands. I have never seen such natural eroticism in an American film. I have never seen such healthy erotic appetite between men and women on the screen. The wives enjoy porno—with their husbands in a group context without any hang-ups or condescension. There is no sense of dirtiness or shame, as if the figures in Biller's film occupy a libidinal utopia where repression had never been invented. The erotic energy bursts from the screen: for a moment anything seems possible with Eros unbound. But Biller has much more than sex on her brain—it's all a setup with us in the audience as bait. Of course the pleasure can't last, as the heroine does go on a journey after all. Biller's strength is in the tonal shifts; one moment she can be playful and fun, and the next moment deathly serious. It is to Biller's credit that her treatment of the sexual revolution is so evenhanded. Even as she celebrates the pleasures of that thorny shift in consciousness that we call a revolution she never lets us forget that it came at women's expense; that men often dictated the revolution's terms. And at a more ontological level, VIVA explores the problem of the contradictions between men's and women's innermost desires. In the end, VIVA is a shining paradox: artificial distillation of sexploitation and realistic portrayal of gender conflict, a traditional dramatic structure with closure that raises many questions, a fun, almost farcical sex film that hides an intellectual seriousness about history. The effect becomes something for everyone. --Mitch Hampton

This film is really not for most movie goers. The pacing is extremely slow and the acting is robotic and two dimensional. It is the kind of film that you would expect to see playing in an art gallery where it would be appropriate to only watch ten minutes, and where you wouldn't have to sit for two hours waiting for a gripping storyline that's not going to materialize. Fans of the genre can probably appreciate it as a parody (or may appreciate it for more complicated reasons) but it's unlikely to be worth your time if you're coming at it without the right background. Which would be most of us. What I did appreciate about the film was the scene and decor, the primary colours, the furniture. It's perfectly staged to mimic some aspect of the 1970s, or 60s, although which aspect I'm not exactly sure, I'm tripping out of my area of knowledge here. But it's beautifully staged and it works as a series of individual scenes just as a full length film it is much too long.