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Criminals fighting over stolen loot, double-crossing each other and paying off corrupt law-enforcers. Lots of shoot-outs and fist-fights. Beautiful women and tough guys. The occasional sex scene. A plot that twists and turns.

Sounds like your average Hollywood gangster flick. But this is not Hollywood, but Kinshasa. The loot is not cocaine, but petrol. The location is not downtown LA or the Bronx, but a Congolese slum. The foreign gang leader is not Mexican, but Angolan. The hero doesn't drive a flashy car, but a battered wreck with 'auto école' written on it.

Viva Riva is an unusual combination: a classic gangster movie, set in one of the poorest countries in the world. The result is an interesting film, that can appeal to thriller-fans and to art-house movie lovers.

The movie has nothing of a classic third world film. Poverty or inequality is not an issue. It's all about fast-paced action. At the same time, it's very authentic. The language is Lingala, the slums are real, the music is Congolese. No artificial ingredients to please a western public.

The plot has a lot of noir-elements. The femme fatale, leading the hero to his downfall; a labyrinthine plot, with no-one trusting no-one; and the seedy bars and brothels where a lot of the action takes place.

Deliberate or not, our actions seem to have a way of coming back on us. Some believe that ancestors, universe or gods are in control, holding us accountable and making us reap what we sow. Others consider everything that happens to be random events, some more significant than others. In the world of Viva Riva! money, the main reason for living and the principal cause of death, is the only thing that matters.

In Djo Tunda Wa Munga's Kinshasa every man, woman and child is for themselves. It's a place where solidarity and gain are, if not synonymous so inseparable, and likely to shift at any time. A place where everyone is doing what they can to carve out a unique space within which to operate and make enough money to survive, maybe even thrive.

One of the hardest working hustlers is Riva (Patsha Bay), who has returned to his hometown Kinshasa with a truckload of petrol that he's planning to sell. During a night out he meets Nora (Manie Malone) and falls in love with her (or decides he wants to own her, a distinction that's hard to make in a world where the line between purchasing and physical desire is severely blurred). Before becoming obscenely rich and winning Nora's heart (which is obviously not for free), Riva first has to deal with César (Hoji Fortuna), the crook from whom he stole the petrol, and Azor (Diplome Amekindra), Nora's gangster boyfriend, who isn't prepared to let go of her, more out of a sense of ownership than love .

One could maybe be forgiven for being tempted to regard both Nora and Riva as just entertaining comic books heroes inhabiting a surreal world, but not for ignoring that Munga is reminding us that whatever we do, and whomever we have become, we are still someone's daughter or son, thus offering his audience the opportunity to engage with this sexy existential action in all its complexity. Similarly, writing off Nora as a passive black Barbie and the enemy of emancipated women would be a rather uninspired interpretation of a film that, like the brilliant TV-series The Wire and Deadwood, is a poignant and vibrant comment on capitalism gone haywire. Viva Riva! could actually not have been released at a better time, when countries are crumbling and thousands of New Yorkers and others are marching against a rampant capitalist system that is leaving millions of wounded along its way.

Amidst news about a country in flames, where people in general and women in particular are falling victim to unparalleled cruelties, it's not always easy to remember that people still dance, laugh, make love and cheat on each other in Kinshasa. And out of misguided concern for those who suffer, we might easily be fooled into denying the existence of every-day concerns in the DRC and other troubled corners of the world. What we should remember however, is that the day we forget that the Congolese are individuals that cannot be defined just by the circumstances they live under, that's the day when we'll forget about our shared humanity, and when we'll stop caring about a people too often portrayed as one-dimensional victims or villains without a past and no real hope of a future.Too proud a Congolese, Djo Munga won't allow us to forget or reduce his people, and too accomplished a filmmaker, he's incapable of not reminding us in the most exciting and entertaining way.

(This and other movie reviews are available on the blog IN THE WORDS OF KATARINA)

Viva Riva works best as a film that will fill your eyes and I mean that in the best sense. The film looks really good from the costumes of the nattily dressed gangsters that Riva is trying to rip off to the complete flashiness of the art deco of the nightclubs that these guys rule over--the film is dripping with style. I should add that the movie is also dripping with violence also as the movie has quite a bit of violence even towards women in it throughout. Its not a film that spares someone from a beating just because she's a she.

The movie's narrative on the other hand is pretty classic. Small time hustler and thief returns to hometown and promptly falls for gangster's girl. Gangster notices and gets upset. Meanwhile the thief is being tracked down and targeted for revenge by the guys he stole from...and those guys are not playing around, they're way more dangerous then the flashy gangster. Film works really well to a point. That point would be the last twenty or so minutes (maybe even ten minutes) where the plot threads that have been forming the whole time finally come together but they don't exactly merge the way you'd like them to. I don't know if it works exactly but i enjoyed it more or less even if its not a plot you haven't already seen in many a film before.

Film is worth checking out tho if you're a fan of hard boiled crime stories or classic gangster cinema (by which i mean movies where the dames talk tougher then the anti heroes) Film does end kind of abruptly--there;s a big shootout (of course) but what happens at the end should've been made either more explicit or more final. Its interesting that i saw this not long before i saw "submarine" because while the two films have absolutely nothing in common--they both sort of suffer in comparison to other films in their genre but are both so so pretty to watch on their own that they almost make up for it in set design alone.

Gangster film from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The story is formulaic and the make-up of the characters is nothing new; stereotypes everywhere you look. But it takes place in Africa's third largest city, Kinshasa, which makes this a peculiar film already. Thugs steal gasoline, thugs try to steal it back. No moral compass whatsoever. You're forced to cheer for a bad guy because there are no good guys. There's plenty of sex which takes away from building a little more depth into the film but fast sex in such a bleak world is part of life in that country. Everything's all about the now and how to survive this life which has been dealt to these people. Some decent performances here and one supremely evil villain made me want to see how it all unfolds in the end. Filmmaking in such lands is not common so that makes this a curiosity to be sure. Not outstanding by any means but definitely worth a watch.

6.1 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

Every possible cliché and insult to women, Africa and humanity finds its way into this over-hyped over-long flick about a gangster who has a jones for an underfed light skinned red-haired woman getting in and out of big cars in a too-tight spangled cocktail dress (no underwear) who gets to have a lot of sex but not much of a speaking part in the movie. Lets not forget this is from a country that suffered through war, rapes, violence, yet the Congolese director (financed by some wealthy westerners) can think of no better script than 2 hours of savage shoot-em-ups, senseless beatings often of women, graphic raunchy sex till you want to scream Uncle, and the message is clearly self-hate and the worship of money and all that it buys. Some Angolan hoods are there to make disparaging remarks about the Congolese, and no one has a hint of a redeeming value (Elderly parents and obedient wives are not excluded from the gratuitous beatings). For westerners yearning to watch Africans do the nasty, here they can have their fill. For Africans looking to feel proud of their film industry, Djo Tunda wa Munga has given you the worst of American cinema with an African face.

I initially thought this movie would be like any other mobster flick, but I was blown away at how good it actually was. I felt the actors were well chosen for their characters, especially Patsha Bay as Riva. He was a clever character that had me intrigued of what he was going to do next. Most scenes happen in Kinshasha which fits into the plot line and is also visually appealing. I feel the plot went to many extremes and was comical at times, which worked extremely well. If you're looking for an action packed film with quite an amount of gore, this films perfect for you ( as I do enjoy these type of films myself). This is definitely a must see and I can't wait to see it again.

Interesting Congolese crime-drama. Good set up and initial plot. Drifts in the middle but has a very gritty, un-Hollywood ending (which is a good thing).

Solid performances all round.

All but a couple of reviewers must have watched a different film. The netflix reviews were much more accurate: Grade B disposable gangster flick. Slick filming but repulsive scenery.

I watched to see what Kinshasa looked like 40 years after I left. If you don't fix the roads pick up garbage nor maintain anything for 40 years you get the right picture.

This is an idiotic grade B film for mass consumption in Africa... it is not material I would want to represent my country in film festivals.

A lot of the actors may have been European Africans (the ones that spoke flawless French)...

DO NOT RECOMMEND

I had the privilege to watch this film at a small, private screening and was blown away. It's a tight, well-shot film with a strong narrative and characters that is not only believable, but also realistic. Shot in Kinshasa, I believe that it must be one of if not the only feature-length narrative film to shot in this vibrant and chaotic capital of the Congo. The performances are strong and everything is exceptionally tight. I recommend seeing it if you get a chance, even if you're not in to the "gangster" genre. While previously just a documentary filmmaker, I look forward to future work from the director, Djo Munga.

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.

Extremely poorly acted and slow to get going, Viva Riva manages some interest in seeing what the worthless, depraved types will do next in the way of merciless violence. There's no one to root for as everyone's corrupt and thuggish – and evincing no interest in living any other way. There are some cultural revelations that would be politically incorrect in a movie not directed by an African: the self-hating nature of many Congolese toward their kleptocratic culture and a wistful feeling that maybe things under colonialism were better. What's most unfortunate about the film however in the opinion of one who lived in Kinshasa many years ago is the lack of depiction of Congolese strengths in the wake of so much cupidity. A strong, stoic people, struggling to get by, and usually without violence and serious graft; and the continent's best music and musicians bar none. You'd never know anything positive about these people or this place based on this silly over-the-top yet still boring crime melodrama.

Someone did their homework in this brilliantly acted existential film; a sexually charged safari into the Kinshasa black market; a world of bandit capitalists looking for the contraband long deal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, creating a new sub genre- African film noir...gritty, real, dark and poignant, where anyone who knows movies beyond the entertainment spectrum is going to find this bit of creative genius to be a damned fine piece of work which evidences an eye for nuance about the human condition as experienced in any 3rd World country where poverty is endemic and the struggle for survival is more than a party game.

VIVA RIVA! is my first Congoese film and it's a bit of a mixed bag. Obviously, there's entertainment value stemming from the novelty nature of the production; very few African films make it over to the west, so this gives viewers a glimpse of what the Democratic Republic of Congo looks like these days.

Unfortunately, the film's narrative turns out to be heavily indebted to Hollywood fare, in particular the gangster genre. The protagonist is a newcomer who enters a world full of corrupt police and ruthless crime bosses. The main twist is that the commodity is petrol rather than drugs; the rest of the smuggling plot line plays out accordingly.

What I didn't like about VIVA RIVA! was the incessant misogyny. Women are beaten and abused and used as playthings by the male characters, who are undoubtedly repulsive. Way too much screen time is padded out with needless sex and supposed erotic scenes, or pure bad taste moments like the bit with the woman urinating. It doesn't add up to very much in the end, aside from leaving an unpleasant taste in the mouth.

I caught a small screening of this film and couldn't take my eyes from the screen until the final credits rolled. A 'neighborhood kid' returning to his hometown brings some baggage back with him. Filmed on location in Kinshasa, this film makes you say 'Did they really just do that?' over and over. Riva may not be the best guy, but his attitude about life makes me respect him. Overall, I would call it a gangster flick set in the Congo with greed, corrupt government officials, and a dash of romance. You can also expect the usual twisting plot with plenty of action, sex, and alcohol. Nothing is left to the imagination. If it happens in the story, you get to see it.. all of it.

(2010) Viva Riva!

(In French, Lingala and Portuguese with English subtitles) CRIME DRAMA

Co written, co-produced and directed by Djo Munga that consists of a "Mad Max 2" scenario in which gasoline has become the main commodity people sought over in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Riva (Patsha Bay) and his best friend, J. M. (Alex Herabo) takes advantage of the situation by stealing from his former boss, Cesar (Hoji Fortuna) with other criminal factions become aware of it, and are coming after them at the same time. He meets and falls for Nora (Manie Malone) getting the attention is her criminal gangster boyfriend, Azor (Diplome Amekindra).

I was a bit cynical before watching the movie but I was extremely pleased with it and would absolutely watch it again and again. It was a great film and reminded me of Blood Diamond meets Last King of Scotland with a much more intense plot and a realistic feeling. I thought it was a great portrayal of the economically damaged region of the Congo. I researched that the director is actually from that part of Africa and he did a wonderful job representing his homeland. The acting was fabulous and Patsha Bay (Riva) is quite a delectable African man who does a great job portraying a gasoline operator. I did not want this movie to end. It was def. a great action film! Looking forward to more films from this director and genre.

Viva Riva is great film. It effectively portrays a ruthless environment as its characters struggle, not just for wealth and fortune but for their lives. There is no easy path for them—this movie shows a 'fight or die' spirit that inhibits all. Viva Riva is sometimes very violent and sexual, but with great acting throughout. I've only seen a handful of movies from the region, and this is one of quality that further represents not only the hardships of the cultures there, but also the talent artistically. Extremely exciting and thrilling, Viva Riva is an action-packed drama at its best. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes exciting movies.

the film is quite good. not suitable for those wary of violence and sexual themes, however the mayhem fits within the storyline and is a reflection of real life in the Congo. all the actors except one of the leading females are native to sub-Saharan Africa. although they are appearing in a film for the first time, their performances were all quite nuanced and polished. this was also the first film for the director and i hope we see more from him. you would never believe it, but the entire production was shot using Canon 5D cameras, digital is going to put a lot of folks out of business. maybe worth an 8 but gave it a 9 because the film is goo AND doesn't go out its way to please the typical focus group which is always a plus in my book.

I got a chance to screen Viva Riva! recently and have to say that I had an incredible time watching this film. There are a lot of similarities to blaxploitation films of the 1970s which makes the film all the more interesting to watch. The film is action packed and suspenseful and really makes for a thrilling ride. Riva, played wonderfully by Patsha Bay, is full of grit and macho- ness that make him the most interesting character to watch. His chemistry with Nora (Manie Malone) is steamy and very sexually charged which is explored in a couple very seductive scenes. This film is somewhat of a guy's action movie with the overt sexuality of the characters and heavy use of fighting and gore. Overall, I would recommend this film to anybody looking for a truly gritty and bad ass film with a little more soul. The characters are strong and charismatic and ready to fight anyone who crosses their path!

I recently had the privilege of viewing Viva Riva and loved it. Viva Riva is full of plenty of violence and sex. However, this is not what the film is about, nor is it so strong that it consumes the story. It is a movie for those who love gangster violence, excitement, and sex in films. Yet, it is also for those who want to see a good movie with a great plot. The acting is excellent, as is the cinematography, and the storyline fits in between scenes of sex and mobster violence. Men will love this film, and women will be able to get into it due to its exciting story, filled with many twists and turns. This film may not be a completely accurate portrayal of the Congo, but this does not matter since it is not a documentary. Instead, it is a fictional, African gangster film. I am not saying to bring the entire family to this one, but I highly recommend mature individuals to see Viva Riva.

I enjoyed this movie beyond reason. It's got equal parts love story, action, and gore and kept me engaged all through. Set in the Congo, it follows the struggles between ruthless gangsters as they fight for control over gasoline, a commodity worth more than a fetch of money in an area where petroleum shortages are severe. The star actress of the movie who plays Nora is a character entangled in the struggle through her relationship with one gangster and love for another, who happens to be the movie's namesake, Riva. Nora plays a character who is equally troubling as she is seductive. Set in the Congo, this movie captures the place and its people eloquently, revealing complicated characters in a place plagued by raw poverty and crime.