Viva Riva!

Dir: Djo Tunda Wa Munga

2011

***

Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s dizzying crime thriller is somewhat over-ambitious but makes up for many of its misgivings with charm and a brilliant conclusion. The film follows a fuel smuggler, Riva (Patsha Bay), after he brings a fuel shipment into Kinshasa. Fuel is in short supply and worth a lot of money – getting more expensive by the day. His contact in Kinshasa drip-feeds him money to keep him happy and convinces him that they should only sell when all the fuel has run out, that way they can ask full price and double their profit. Riva, who is young and reckless, decides to enjoy his money the only way he knows how and flashes it around town. He teams up with his oldest friend and the pair are soon making waves in the local clubs. Riva is pursued by a Congolese gangster, the impeccably-dressed Cesar (Hoji Fortuna), whom Riva stole the fuel from. Cesar blackmails a local military officer, the Commandant (Marlene Longage) by pretending he is holding her sister hostage and will kill her if she doesn’t help him find Riva and the stolen fuel. The Commandant accesses a local informant and church resources to aid Cesar's search. Her friend, a prostitute who has come across Riva in the clubs, soon gets involved in the search. Meanwhile Riva falls for Nora (Manie Malone), the partner of a dangerous local gangster, Azor. Riva is punching above his weight but has the arrogance to hold steady. He somehow wins over Nora and the pair sneak away together but both are caught by Azor. Cesar then comes across Azor after he lets Riva go with the promise of some of his fuel. Tension rise and soon everyone involved finds themselves either double-crossed, in danger or dead. It takes a while to warm up but when Viva Riva! gets going, it goes at it at full speed. At first I wasn’t sure what sort of film it wants to be, it is only towards the end that it seems that the intention was for it to be somewhere between Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths and Guy Richie’s Snatch. It is an unpolished and somewhat amateur production but with moments of magic that keep up the momentum. Some of the violence is unashamedly brutal and a little heavy-handed at times, especially as the film tries to carry a comic-like feel about it. Unfortunately the violence and comedy, and how they follow one another, totally spoils the film’s ‘romantic’ side. When I say romantic, I mean sexual, there is no romance, only crude and misplaced sex scenes. This is the film at its most ambitious. There is a couple of examples of stunning cinematography during a brothel scene where some of the prostitutes dance around in tribal costume behind flowing net curtains but the sex scenes between Riva and Nora are either laughable or uncomfortably grubby. For instance, the scene where Riva performs cunnilingus through a bathroom window is ridiculous, baffling and rather distracting. I felt my face wince several times throughout the film, so much so that forehead actually hurt by the end of it and I’m pretty sure I developed a wrinkle. However, despite all this, Viva Riva! was continuously entertaining, full of suspense and intrigue and had me guessing right up until the end. The story’s conclusion is brilliant and cleverly crafted. I like that it starred a cast of locals, most of whom weren’t trained actors. The film received 12 nominations and won 6 awards at the 7th Africa Movie Academy Awards, including the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography & Best Production Design, a feat that made it the highest winning film in the history of the AMAA’s. It was well deserved and even though it isn’t perfect and has a few amateur flaws, it can hold its own among most mainstream crime thrillers from America and Europe and is also more original then the vast majority. Viva Riva and Viva Djo Tunda Wa Munga!