This vastly enjoyable romp features Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau at their loveliest as two saloon entertainers who (inadvertently) not only find themselves in the middle of the Mexican Revolution, but also invent striptease in the process! VIVA MARIA! sees Louis Malle return to the "anything goes" territory of his earlier success, ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (1960); here he is aided immeasurably by an engaging cast (which also includes Luis Bunuel regular, Claudio Brook and an understandably daunted George Hamilton!) and an impeccable crew (co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, cinematographer Henri Decae, composer Georges Delerue, assistant directors Juan Bunuel and Volker Schlondorff)! While the film is uneven in spots, the last half hour is a succession of hilarious sight gags which border at times, perhaps unsurprisingly given its credentials, on the surreal and the anti-clerical.
Review of Viva Maria!
