Audience Member
In 1907, in a Central American country called San Miguel, Maria II (Brigitte Bardot), the daughter of an Irish Republican anarchist, meets Maria I (Jeanne Moreau), the singer of a circus. After her father dies, Maria II hides in the circus where she sees Maria I's partner commit suicide after a failed love affair. Both Marias agree to form a theatrical team. In her debut as a singer, Maria II accidentally invents striptease, an action that lets the circus achieve great fame. Shortly afterwards the Marias meet Florès (George Hamilton), a socialist revolutionary. He invites them to join his cause, a revolution against "El Dictador" (José Ángel Espinoza). But Florès is soon shot. On his deathbed he makes Maria I promise to carry through with his cause and she agrees. Though at first reluctant to acquiesce to Florès' and Maria I's endeavor, Maria II joins the cause when she comes to the aid of her vulnerable friend...
Time called it a "jaunty but slipshod farce"; "Having saddled himself with an idea that often seems too silly for words, Director Malle rides to the rescue with more anti-state, anti-church, antedated spoofery than he can gracefully handle. His rhythm is erratic, as though he were trying to make a movie in five or six different styles at the same time, none wholly his own. But even the deadly slow stretches are redeemed by cameraman Henri Decaë, whose breathtakingly sophisticated photography is a show in itself, imperceptibly shaded as the action moves from lush Rousseau tropics to the cabaret scenes that exude a smoky golden haze in which Moreau and Bardot appear like creatures of Lautrec or Degas, ineffably alluring." According to Variety, the film has "B.B. in her best form since And God Created Woman, and brilliantly matched by Jeanne Moreau. They are backed by a rollicking, comic adventure opus impeccably brought off by director Louis Malle." (via Wikipedia)
Louis Malle´s feministic adventure comedy/farce/satire with a anti-state and anti-church setting is just too silly in my book. Bardot and Moreau enlights the screen as the heroines with their presence, but the storyline is not of my liking at least.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
Brigitte Bardot looks stunning (as usual) in this passable but unremarkable film that seems like a mere French shot at a Hollywoodian movie in Panavision, with superlative production values and a harmless, slapstick sense of humor that sometimes borders on the surreal.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau are burlesque performers of a sort in the old west and get aught up in a south of the border revolution. The film was written and directed by Louis Malle, so there is a bit of a political subtext, but its mostly all for fun, watching proper Moreau and Bardot fighting the revolution with frocks and parasols. George Hamilton is also part of the revolution. Silly and quite enjoyable.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
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Audience Member
One of Louis Malle's strangest, most eccentric films, this satire of political revolutions is visually spectacular, pairing France's two most popular stars: Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
After the death of her father, a daughter of a revolutionary joins a band of traveling musicians and actors before leading a revolution of her own.
The best that I can guess about this film is that it's a satire of revolutions or revolutionary films. Many of the scenes are so over-blown and beyond practical conception that it's impossible to take them seriously. However, I can't be sure. The satire is far from clear. What is clear is how utterly annoying everything about this film is. The characters are broadly drawn types, the situations are ludicrous, and the attempts at comic bits are as bad as anything I've seen. I found myself counting down the seconds this film had left, and watching it became a chore.
Overall, I hated this film even though there might be a mystery satire somewhere beneath all the bullshit.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"Viva Maria!" is in no doubt a bizarre movie, but is still one that I enjoyed. Two women named Maria (Bardot and Moreau) accidentally create the sriptease in early 1900's Mexico. They create a sensation, and while traveling to another venue to perform, Maria II falls for a Spanish revolution leader (Hamilton). When he dies, she swears to continue his work. The Maria's end up being quite the leaders, and are treated like saints. This movie was listed as a comedy, but I didn't laugh once. The other genre listed said action/adventure, and thankfully that was right. This film is pretty stupid, but when you're watching a movie, you have to look at other aspects besides art. I was entertained, and that's all that matters. "Viva Maria!" is one of those crowd-pleasing movies, that will never be a classic. But on the other hand, is a great movie to see if you wanna see French bombshells Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau together. No, these are not their greatest performances, but Moreau adds class to this movie, and Bardot adds fun, with all of her shooting skills ... This is a strange movie plot wise, because as the film goes on you realize, "why do they create the striptease?" Soon, it becomes a random scene, and I think the movie could have been better off had they ditched it and just had the Maria's be Spanish Revolution leaders. Oh well. "Viva Maria!" is pretty dumb, but a good time waster.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
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