This was a selection from the 2011 Wisconsin Film Festival. The quick description is African Film-Noir, and it might be a loose example of a 'Nollywood' which refers to the Nigeria-based film industry that puts out entertaining movies for the African masses (like Bollywood in India). But this is set in Zaire so I can't say what connections this movie has to the main African hub of popular filmmaking.
Viva Riva has a femme fatale, a charismatic anti-hero, multiple layers of eccentric villians, and a (minor spoiler) bleak ending. It has that feel of a B-Movie... where it's best to just enjoy the ride and not think to hard on the amorality of it all. For any fan of film noir it's a unique treat, because all those movie tropes are set in the weighty background of a chaotic impoverished African country. In this environment, the desperation these characters get themselves into aren't just dramatic flourishes but a real possibility. What might be thrown away as a genre picture actually becomes something more compelling. Is this kind of violence and tragedy a purely escapist for of cinema for "NollyWood" viewers? Is there an overall message involved? Are Western viewers supposed to think of this in a more sociopolitical way? All important questions, but in the meantime it is a really incredible version of a familiar story.
The WIFF 2011 wasn't the best of the Wisconsin Film Festivals I attended, but this was a real treat.
Viva Riva has a femme fatale, a charismatic anti-hero, multiple layers of eccentric villians, and a (minor spoiler) bleak ending. It has that feel of a B-Movie... where it's best to just enjoy the ride and not think to hard on the amorality of it all. For any fan of film noir it's a unique treat, because all those movie tropes are set in the weighty background of a chaotic impoverished African country. In this environment, the desperation these characters get themselves into aren't just dramatic flourishes but a real possibility. What might be thrown away as a genre picture actually becomes something more compelling. Is this kind of violence and tragedy a purely escapist for of cinema for "NollyWood" viewers? Is there an overall message involved? Are Western viewers supposed to think of this in a more sociopolitical way? All important questions, but in the meantime it is a really incredible version of a familiar story.
The WIFF 2011 wasn't the best of the Wisconsin Film Festivals I attended, but this was a real treat.
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