Viva

Name: Viva
Genre: Drama
Released: April 29, 2016
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Héctor Medina, Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García, Renata Maikel Machin Blanco

2016

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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Viva (US)

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: April 29, 2016 | Not Rated

Starring: Héctor Medina, Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García, Renata Maikel Machin Blanco

Summary: Jesus (Héctor Medina) is a hairdresser for a troupe of drag performers in Havana, but dreams of being a performer. When he finally gets his chance to be on stage, a stranger emerges from the crowd and punches him in the face. The stranger is his father Angel, a former boxer, who has been absent from his life for 15 years. As father and sonJesus (Héctor Medina) is a hairdresser for a troupe of drag performers in Havana, but dreams of being a performer. When he finally gets his chance to be on stage, a stranger emerges from the crowd and punches him in the face. The stranger is his father Angel, a former boxer, who has been absent from his life for 15 years. As father and son clash over their opposing expectations of each other, Viva becomes a love story as the men struggle to understand one another and become a family again. [Magnolia Pictures]… Expand

Director: Paddy Breathnach

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 100 min

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Critic Reviews

Leah Greenblatt

Apr 28, 2016

Havana’s crumbling trapped-in-time beauty also plays a starring role, but it’s Medina who provides the movie’s raw, tender heart. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Apr 28, 2016

It infuses a too-familiar story with so much heart that you surrender to its charm and forgive it for being unabashedly formulaic. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

May 5, 2016

The lively setting helps, but the main attration here is the familiar story, which has been around forever and yet never gets old. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Apr 28, 2016

Nothing happens you won't see coming, but it's all so deftly done you're more than happy to wait for the inevitable to arrive. Read full review

Steve Davis

Jun 15, 2016

This young actor is good, very good in fact. Watching him become beautifully alive in Viva is this little gem’s greatest pleasure. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

May 5, 2016

The story is slightly melodramatic, but director Paddy Breathnach finds ways to make it surprisingly moving at times, in the same way that he makes the Havana slums look paradoxically beautiful. Read full review

Randy Cordova

May 12, 2016

A movie that never quite comes to life, despite its title. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

May 8, 2016

An emotive, heartfelt drama about finding redemption, finding the capacity for forgiveness and finding one's voice, all rolled into one. This touching, humorous, sometimes-gritty look at the life of an aspiring Cuban drag queen and his estranged alcoholic, ex-con father, a one-time boxingAn emotive, heartfelt drama about finding redemption, finding the capacity for forgiveness and finding one's voice, all rolled into one. This touching, humorous, sometimes-gritty look at the life of an aspiring Cuban drag queen and his estranged alcoholic, ex-con father, a one-time boxing contender, examines their troubled relationship and their efforts to amend it, The film's pacing slows a bit too much in the final half hour, but otherwise the picture delivers with a powerful impact.… Expand

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GreatMartin

Apr 30, 2016

Full disclosure: I am a sucker for a father/son movie and though “Viva” has a formula screenplay by Mark O’Halloran the director, Paddy Breathnach, gets first rate performances from the father, Angel, played by Jorge Perugorria and the son, Jesus, played by Hector Medina. O’Halloran alsoFull disclosure: I am a sucker for a father/son movie and though “Viva” has a formula screenplay by Mark O’Halloran the director, Paddy Breathnach, gets first rate performances from the father, Angel, played by Jorge Perugorria and the son, Jesus, played by Hector Medina. O’Halloran also adds just as strong a story about drag queens in a neighborhood club in Havana, Cuba, from the old pros to the young wannabes and all those in-between and what it takes to belong this select ‘family’ where Mama, played by Luis Alberto Garcia, leads with fierce determination.

When the picture opens we meet young, unsettled Jesus who gets along and lives in a dingy apartment by being a hairdresser to old women and drag queens in the neighborhood who sometimes can’t afford to pay him.

Jesus lost his mother a few years ago and his father, who abused her, left them when Jesus was 3 years old. He was a macho boxer on the verge of winning but didn’t. After serving time in prison he comes back 14-15 years later to try and reunite with his son and for another reason that won’t be much of a surprise.

The film not only follows the relationship between a father who won’t quite accept his effeminate son but at the same time follows the latter’s first wooden performance in drag to his learning to get the strength to be who he is in spite of those around him.

Though the film goes where you know it will from the first scene I was still awash in tears when it concluded and be sure to stay for the end credits. Also the cinematography, by Cathal Watters, of Havana shows you not what tourists see but how Cuban people really live and survive. I only wish they had translated the lyrics of the songs sung by the drag performers but they certainly get the feelings of the songs across.

“Viva” is an effective film that I hope crosses over to all audiences and was Ireland’s (go ahead and figure that one out!) entry for an Oscar for 2015… Expand

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