Film Review: "VIVA"

Film Review: "Viva"

Official Submission of Ireland to the 88th Academy Awards

European Film Promotion Screening Series

Los Angeles, October 2015

"Viva" is a poignant character study that was unfortunately hampered a bit by the introduction of a father-son dynamic to the narrative spoiling somehow the promising start of this beautiful and heartbreaking drama from Ireland that’s interestingly set in the poor slums of Havana.

Have you ever felt like your heart was being stabbed and you are breathing with extra effort because you want to cry and yet your tears are not coming out of your eyes and instead you feel like it is slowly drowning you inside and you just want to collapse and wail in immense sorrow? That’s how I felt from the very instant the film opened with a shot of a city from a distance and the entire cinema is engulfed in that sorrowful, bellowing ballad from a woman who is obviously in pain. My pain further intensified when the camera takes us inside a dimly-lit club where an aging drag queen is seen singing all her heart out and then we see from the corner a face that’s intently focused on the performer on stage. We are then introduced to Jesus and to his world, to his life. And, oh, what a tragic life, indeed! What a beautifully tragic life. A life where the struggle is not preparing for next month’s rent but for the next day’s meal, where the choices are limited to not what you are willing to do for work but how far you are willing to sell and prostitute your body and, in poor Havana, there are only two easy options it seems: to be a boxer and get your body beat up for money or to do tricks and get your body used and abused by horny men.

Aerial shots of the decaying neighborhood where our main protagonist lives adds an additional layer of forlorn to what is already a sad film. You will see the deterioration of what probably once was a bustling and vibrant city to a lifeless, joyless, poverty-laden slum. The narrative is compellingly punctuated with bursts of powerful and emotional ballads that further heightens the despair you are already carrying in your heart from the first moment the camera rested on Jesus' face. His sad eyes, which has a distinct sparkle of a small droplet of water out of a dripping faucet and makes him appear like he’s on the verge of crying anytime, longingly and forlornly watches his own life as it goes past him.

To mitigate the overwhelming despair, the narrative introduces us to several colorful characters that make up the world of Jesus. Some make us laugh with their antics including a street hustler who fakes various injuries because he thinks clients tend to be more sympathetic and generous when they see an injured hustler. There's a grandmotherly client who always pays Jesus short after he's done doing her hair. There's an aging drag queen who takes his time putting on make-up before he goes on stage. His world is alive and offers reasons to laugh but Jesus thrives in his unhappiness. He is not depressed but circumstances has made him treasure the misfortune he was born with. Oh, i am all dragging you into his miserable, beautiful life. 

Jesus is portrayed to perfection by Hector Medina and he is ably supported by Jorge Perugorria, Luis Alberto Garcia, Laura Aleman, Luis Manuel Alvarez. "Viva" was directed by Paddy Breathnach and was written by Mark O’Halloran. Benicio Del Toro is credited as Executive Producer. 

Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

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Raymond Lo