Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Viva Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 21, 2021

Anna Biller's "Viva" (2007) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include audio commentary by Anna Biller, documentary on the making of the film, and original trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The bored housewife

Suburban Los Angeles, the 1970s. While drinking wine in her tub, bored housewife Barbi (Anna Biller) concludes that it is time to make things happen rather than wait for them to happen. Soon after, she reveals a bold new attitude before her workaholic husband, Rick (Chad England), but he abandons her and she begins hanging out with the new neighbors, aspiring actor Mark (Jared Sanford) and his partner Sheila (Bridget Brno). The weekend barbeques then quickly evolve into the kind of sexual games Barbi has been fantasizing about.

But the excitement from the sexual games quickly wears off and Barbi decides to pursue a modeling career. While trying to pick the fastest way to the top of the modeling industry, she bumps into a sleazy hairdresser who spikes her drink so that another wannabe model can take advantage of her. The experience temporarily erodes Babri’s determination to be a model, but instead of discarding her lofty goal she slightly adjusts it, and together with her new friend Sheila ends up at the office of Mrs. James (Carole Balkan), who runs one of the area’s most popular brothels. As an adult model-courtesan, Barbi then finally figures out how to mix business with pleasure.

Soon after, while on a paid date at a nudist camp, Barbi is exposed to a whole new range of possibilities that culminate with a few quite exotic group experiences. Then out of the blue a visionary producer who has become tired of the nudity that has shaped up the image of the entertainment industry invites Barbi and Sheila to audition for the next big thing -- “a return to the Busby Berkeley musicals of yesteryear with just a nod of Jacques Demy”, quite possibly “the freshest thing since Liberace.”

Written and directed by Biller, Viva is the kind of film that can genuinely excite when described on paper, but as a finished product it is enormously disappointing. Indeed, there is very little in it that actually looks and feels right. The entire project is an odd mish-mash of familiar sexual themes that in years past have been drastically better utilized in films like Belle de Jour and Score, where the director and the talent were actually a team working together with a proper understanding of what needed to be accomplished. In Viva, not only is this crucial understanding missing, but the talent is actually not right for the job. Needless to say, most of the time it looks like everyone is participating in very random and very quick tests that are meant to determine whether different groups of actors can actually get their lines right.

Some of the locations that Biller chose to revive 1970s suburbia are pretty decent, but sadly they are not shot with the needed skills either. For the most part, it looks like everything was done very quickly and as cheaply as possible, and then edited just as badly.

The one and only area where one could potentially find a few things to like is the production design. Some, but not all, of the period clothing as well as particular pieces of furniture and art objects are reminiscent of what was trendy during the 1970s. Also, the colors are appropriately bold and vivid, as they usually were in the old days. Unfortunately, this can’t be a good excuse to recommend spending nearly two hours with Viva.

Viva Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Viva arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The lush visuals this film produces can be quite deceiving because they can trick untrained eyes to send a message to the brain that all is good. Unfortunately, the current master has a pretty disappointing digital appearance that reminds of the older problematic masters that frequently emerge from Universal's vaults. For example, delineation is surprisingly underwhelming, so on a larger screen you will easily recognize that many fine nuances are lost. Oddly enough, there is even some light smearing that sneaks in, so depth can be problematic as well (see screencapture #15). Some of the primary colors are very bright and rich, but the supporting nuances are very shaky. Darker nuances are the most problematic ones, but lighter nuances in areas with plenty of light can be expanded and rebalanced as well. Image stability is very good. All in all, I am actually a bit surprised that Viva looks as it does on Blu-ray because it was completed in 2007, so I expected a much more healthy technical presentation. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Viva Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The original sound design is very basic, but everything is rock-solid. The dialog is crystal-clear, clean, and very easy to follow. Balance is excellent as well. Obviously, dynamic contrasts are very, very modest, but there are a few bits of music that are effective. Stability is excellent. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Viva Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes - in this program, Anna Biller discusses the conception and production of Viva. Raw footage from the shooting of the film is included as well. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for Viva. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - audio commentary by Anna Biller.

Viva Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I tried really, really hard to like Viva because on paper it sounded like a throwback project that might have been inspired by some of Radley Metzger's quirky films. I was barely able to finish it. The acting, directing and editing are so bad I am genuinely surprised that it was screened at a few festivals. If the official description of Viva sounds intriguing to you, explore some of Metzger's films from the 1970s, like The Lickerish Quartet, Score, and The Image. These films are gorgeously crafted and look beautiful on Blu-ray. From there, if you haven't already done so, you can easily transition to Luis Bunuel's classic Belle de Jour.