VIVA MARIA! Movie Review

There are two Marias in Viva Maria!; they're both dancers in a show traveling through Mexico and, more importantly, they're played by Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. They're not pleased with the poverty they encounter in their travels, and they decide to do something about it. Just what to do becomes more clear after the Moreau Maria has an affair with a revolutionary leader played by—no kidding—George Hamilton! (Making this picture must be where the tan came from.) When he's killed, the two Marias take their cue, arm themselves, and bomb and blast their way toward liberation for the oppressed. For director Louis Malle, Viva Maria! must have been a welcome breather after the grim rigors of The Fire Within. And who could ever blame him for grabbing the chance to direct both of these legends in the same film? BB and JM look great—it's a pairing made in casting heaven—yet there's a noticeable lack of any real sparks when they're on screen together, and a good deal of the comic schtick seems labored and by-the-numbers. Still, Viva Maria! is harmless, silly fun, with the emphasis on silly.

NEXT STOP … Zazie dans le Metro, Cat Ballou, Thelma and Louise

1965 (R) 119m/C FR IT Jeanne Moreau, Brigitte Bardot, George Hamilton, Paulette Dubost, Claudio Brook; D: Louis Malle; W: Louis Malle, Jean-Claude Carriere; C: Henri Decae; M: Georges Delerue. VHS MGM