Chicago – At this year’s MTV Movie Awards, Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s “Viva Riva!” had the distinction of winning the first ever “Best African Movie” award, thus equating it with such cinematic masterworks as “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Luckily, that’s not the only claim to fame for Munga’s slick neo-noir, which also garnered six African Academy Awards and single-handedly revitalized the film industry in Congo.
It was clearly the director’s intention to make a picture most likely to have international appeal, and in that regard, he has succeeded admirably. Though the film has garnered comparisons to Fernando Meirelles’s masterwork “City of God,” “Riva” is more interested in establishing a rich style and atmosphere than exploring compelling characters. Munga’s background in documentaries brings an immediacy and detail to each sequence, though the people populating the foreground never rise beyond the level of genre archetypes.
DVD...
It was clearly the director’s intention to make a picture most likely to have international appeal, and in that regard, he has succeeded admirably. Though the film has garnered comparisons to Fernando Meirelles’s masterwork “City of God,” “Riva” is more interested in establishing a rich style and atmosphere than exploring compelling characters. Munga’s background in documentaries brings an immediacy and detail to each sequence, though the people populating the foreground never rise beyond the level of genre archetypes.
DVD...
- 10/6/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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