Save your money for something good and enjoyable

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This film is a glorious mess. Just when you think you have it figured out, it changes into a different style. You want a sexy musical romantic comedy, here it is, you want a slapstidk spoof, here it is, you want an action-filled spaghetti western, you got it. It is probably closest altogether in tone to "Cat Ballou". Altogether its an inventive sexy farce that captures the light and cheerfulness of the mid 1960's.Louis Malle seems to be channeling Richard Lester (the movie was made around the time of "Help" and "A Hard Day's Night") throwing gags right and left. He has the good sense to keep the camera on both Jeanne Moreau and Bridget Bardot for long stretches. Unfortunately, there is little chemistry between them, but they are both so sexy the viewer isn't sure who to focus on. The viewers' eyes dart from Bardot on the left to Moreau on the right and back again.If one sees it as a competition between Bardot and Moreau, I would have to say that Bardot wins hands down. She seems to genuinely to love her role, while Moreau seems a little nervous about having to compete with Bardot on the screen. Still both are at the top of their game as actresses and are a treat.The movie is unabashedly pro-revolutionary with classic Marxist ideology, something quite refreshing. The peasants are oppressed and noble, and the land-owners, army and Catholic priests are powerful and savage. The movie is pleasure on every level. If you enjoyed "Bandidas" with Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, you'll enjoy this film.

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.

Loius Malle made a lot of serious, European-set films, so 'Viva Maria!', a comedy musical western, certainly represents an oddity in his catalogue. With Brigitte Bardot on board, you might think he couldn't have gone very far wrong. Unfortuantly, the dubbing of the English language version (reviewed here) is so appalling (and the choice of dialogue so dire) that you might be better off switching off the sound and enjoying it as a silent film, as there's only actually one song but a lot of visual comedy. A few details are nice, and in places Malle has fun with his camera, but overall the effect is more Carry-on than 'Moulin Rouge!'. The film also shows its age in its very sixties portrayal of liberated women. Overall, a sadly mediocre movie, made interesting only by the glimpse of its star.

VIVA MARIA, a French-Italian co-production, is set in the revolution-torn Mexico in the early 1900s. Maria (Brigitte Bardot) - the daughter of an IRA operative - journeys to Mexico and meets up with her namesake Jeanne Moreau. Under the guise of circus/vaudevillian entertainers, they pursue their revolutionary activities around the countryside. The illustrious pair are captured but escape to fight with an enthusiastic peasantry to free San Miguel from its Spanish oppressors. Thoroughly entertaining and rollicking fun with spectacular visual action. Most of the film was shot on location in Mexico and the railway scenes filmed authentically on the 3ft gauge Interoceanic division of National Railways of Mexico. The featured steam loco is G-023 class 2-8-0 No. 66 (Alco 5209).