No one who views the 2007 throwback sexploitation film Viva from multihyphenate Anna Biller (The Love Witch) would accuse the artist of not having a creative vision. The writer-director-performer-(the list goes on) wears her curiosity for the films of Russ Meyers and Herschell Gordon Lewis on her sleeve, but perhaps even more apparent is her interest in the aesthetic presented in the pages of Playboy magazine that presented an unbelievable reality to a generation of frisky readers. The replication of the era is scarily accurate in its kitschy, campy vividness, but the supposed spoof of the genre hews so closely to the original material that the humor may only resonate to the most ardent of genre fans. While spoofs such as Black Dynamite go hilariously over-the-top while showing their love for its preferred subgenre, Biller creates an insular experience that is easier to appreciate than to completely become enamored by.
Biller plays the titular Viva, first seen at the beginning of her journey as Barbi, a bored housewife who is unfulfilled by her classically handsome workaholic husband Rick (Chad England). She is the perfect wife who fixes platters of Swedish meatballs and cheese fondue that look like they come right from a catalog, and she never ruffles any feathers at home or in the office. In the latter environment, she is subjected to the stereotypical skirt-chasing boss who chases her around the desk wanting to get what he is entitled to (“wait, I haven’t promoted you yet”). Barbi has a stirring deep inside her that is further prodded by her unencumbered neighbor friend, Sheila (Bridget Brno), and her swinging thespian husband, Mark (Jared Sanford). When Barbi dares to raise a complaint to Rick, he throws a tantrum and leaves Barbi on her own to begin her sexual awakening alongside a newly-single Sheila. Sheila finds comfort in being a kept-woman by a billionaire, while Barbi takes a fraught-path as an escort that opens her up to one wild experience after another.
As Barbi, Biller is the backbone of this film with her charmingly stilted delivery that meshes with the original style flawlessly. The bravery with which she tackles this role is quite something, as she puts herself into shocking scenarios that do not verge into salacious territory thanks to her presence behind the camera. In lesser hands, this film could have been deeply uncomfortable with the amount of rampant female and male nudity throughout, but you can always feel that there is purpose behind each scene with Biller. In her commentary track, she tells a story about reading her father’s Playboy magazine as a young girl and how afraid she was that she would grow up and become an empty-headed shell due to how these women answered their interview questions. She channels that mini-trauma into this script by satirizing this phenomena, but does so with such grace that it is easy to overlook. One by one she crosses paths with figures such a a gay hairdresser (Barry Morse) and his uber-hetero neighbor (Cole Chipman); a hippie nudist (Paolo Davanza) and many more until it culminates in a climactic orgy sequence.
As a technical feat, Viva is a film that is beyond reproach. Every element of the production design has been flawlessly brought to life, and the cinematography from C. Thomas Lewis convinces you that this is surely a relic of a time long past. The feel of the movie is not in question for a second. It is the lack of genuine laughs that keep this one a bit at arm’s length. There are bawdy double entendres that elicit some chuckles, and the performances are over-the-top enough to make you shake your head in gleeful disbelief, but the true belly laughs are nearly nonexistent if you are not as in love with this aesthetic as Biller. Even those who do share such a fascination may balk at the two hour runtime that begins to lose steam quite a bit before the credits start rolling. I wanted to go on this journey with Biller and experience the campy nature of these swinging sexual situations, but personally I could not get past more than a respectful appreciation of seeing a finely-crafted film.
Video Quality
Viva comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer derived from an excellent master. The fact that Kino Lorber has not only rescued this film for a new audience but has also given it a beautiful presentation is very impressive. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the source without any hints of digital tinkering. The grain presents as organic rather than overwhelmingly noisy, which allows for greater depth to the image. Overall clarity and detail is very strong, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Colors are well saturated with vivid hues popping off the screen, especially in the bold production design. Black levels are deep and hold up well with crush not serving as a noticeable issue. All instances of print damage have been cleaned up outside of the occasional blemish. This new presentation from Kino Lorber is a wonderful representation of the film.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that accurately captures the intended sound of the film. The music is used well to establish the mood of the story, and this track handles it elegantly throughout the duration of the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. The environmental sounds of various parties and orgies are rendered well alongside everything else. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Kino Lorber has given this film a perfectly preserved audio presentation that brings the movie to life in a most pleasing manner.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer/director/star Anna Biller and filmmaker Jackson Stewart (Beyond The Gates) provide a very entertaining commentary track in which they delve into all the different facets of the film from the inspirations from Playboy, the production design, how rejection fueled the desire to make this film, casting the film, the comfort level with nudity for some of the more “artistic” performers and more. Biller does a great job of explaining why she chose to make this film and what she was trying to accomplish.
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage: An eight-minute behind-the-scenes piece is provided with commentary from Biller where she explains the thoughtful production design, the costumes, the “theatrical atmosphere” of the set and more. It is interesting to have the illusion broken by seeing how the film was shaped.
- Trailer: A two-minute trailer is provided for the film which captures the mood pretty capably.
Final Thoughts
Viva is an impressively crafted feature that recreates the 70s sexploitation aesthetic quite flawlessly. Anna Biller shows every ounce of her creativity on screen as each shot transports you to a different time, and a different representation of sexual dynamics shown in mass media. This result is something thoughtful and intriguing, but lacking somewhat in genuine laughs. Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray with a really great A/V presentation and a couple of cool supplemental features. If you have a soft spot for sexploitation films, you may get more out of this one than others.
Viva will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on August 24, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
