Viva Riva!

Riva is a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline. Wads of cash in hand and out for a good time, Riva is soon entranced by beautiful night club denizen Nora, the kept woman of a local gangster.

I mean, it commits to its story, that's for sure. 'Viva Riva!' is a crime thriller that truly is just that, as there are no good characters (except Anto, I guess!) - just a bunch of criminals slogging it out across 90 or so minutes. I'm not entirely sure if I like it or not. On the one hand it goes around in circles without anything story-wise actually happening, but on the other hand it actually is kinda fun seeing every character at each other's necks without the film shoehorning a goodie. Patsha Bay, Hoji Fortuna and Manie Malone put in solid performances, Marlene Longage is alright as well. The cast aren't anything amazing but do all work together well, all suiting their respective roles. Bay and Malone share a rather, erm, 'creative' sex scene at around the 41 minute mark, which was more amusing than anything else. Not one I'll remember or likely revisit, though it is a flick that I'd personally consider as passable. Nice to see a film from the DRC, too.