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
Chicago – In our latest drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 5 DVDs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of the action-filled neo-noir “Viva Riva!,” which is the 2011 MTV Movie Award winner for best African film!
“Viva Riva!,” which will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment, stars Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longange, Diplome Amekindra and Alex Herabo from writer and director Djo Munga.
To win your free “Viva Riva!” DVD courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.
“Viva Riva!” will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment.
Image credit: Music Box Films Home Entertainment
Here is the plot description for “Viva Riva!”:
“Viva Riva!” is an...
“Viva Riva!,” which will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment, stars Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longange, Diplome Amekindra and Alex Herabo from writer and director Djo Munga.
To win your free “Viva Riva!” DVD courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.
“Viva Riva!” will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment.
Image credit: Music Box Films Home Entertainment
Here is the plot description for “Viva Riva!”:
“Viva Riva!” is an...
- 9/21/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Patsha Bay Mukuna is a small-time hood looking for his shot in Viva Riva!
Music Box Films Home Entertainment will release the thriller Viva Riva!, the first film from the Democratic Republic of Congo to ever receive a major release in theaters in the U.S., on DVD on Sept. 27 for a list price of $29.95.
Written and directed by first-time narrative feature film helmer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the movie tells the steamy tale of the ambitious small-time hood Riva (Patsha Bay Mukuna), who returns to his frantic, corrupt hometown of Kinshasa after a decade-long absence. All he has is a pocketful of cash and a stash of stolen gasoline, a commodity in the Congo.
It doesn’t take too long before Riva gets involved with a bunch of shady but alluring characters, including a local gangster (Diplome Amekindra) looking to move up in the world, his slinky, always-game girlfriend...
Music Box Films Home Entertainment will release the thriller Viva Riva!, the first film from the Democratic Republic of Congo to ever receive a major release in theaters in the U.S., on DVD on Sept. 27 for a list price of $29.95.
Written and directed by first-time narrative feature film helmer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the movie tells the steamy tale of the ambitious small-time hood Riva (Patsha Bay Mukuna), who returns to his frantic, corrupt hometown of Kinshasa after a decade-long absence. All he has is a pocketful of cash and a stash of stolen gasoline, a commodity in the Congo.
It doesn’t take too long before Riva gets involved with a bunch of shady but alluring characters, including a local gangster (Diplome Amekindra) looking to move up in the world, his slinky, always-game girlfriend...
- 7/26/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
A gangster film set in the Congo about violence, greed, corrupt military officials, and romance, Viva Riva! is the first film from the Democratic Republic of Congo to play U.S. theaters and it turns out to be a solid crime drama. Its derivative plot is inspired by 70′s Blaxploitation but it’s from a fresh and interesting part of the world and easy to take as rollicking homicidal entertainment. This story of a gasoline pirate is presented with a bold and stylish approach with a depiction of violence that recalls such films as Alejandro Innaritu’s impressive Mexican 2000 feature debut, Ammores Perros (Life is a Bitch”), and the Brazilian epic City Of God (2003). Riva (Patsha Bay) is a confident smalltime hustler who arrives in his home town of Kinshasa with a truck full of precious gasoline, a rare commodity and one worth killing over. He’s swindled the fuel...
- 7/22/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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