Aviva: Review

27th April 2021

Aviva: Review. By Hugues Porquier.

“Aviva” is a film released in 2020 in the United States, directed by Boaz Yakin, director of “Remember the Titans” (2000), “Uptown Girls” (2004) or “Boarding School” (2018) and producer of various films such as “Now You See Me” (2013) or “Hostel” (2005).

The film won the 2020 Award for “Best Film” at the Choreoscope International Dance Film Festival in Barcelona. And for good reason, dance is used as a way of expression throughout the film, furthermore all the actors are also dancers.

We find Aviva and Eden, who after having exchanged online for a long time between Paris and the United States, starts a romantic relationship. This relationship will not be platonic, on the contrary, throughout the film we follow the couple in their moments of love, doubt, pain and sorrow.

“Aviva” addresses the theme of the couple in an experimental way, going beyond gender. The man is a woman and vice versa, gender is no longer a thing in this vision of the relationship.

Boas Yakin makes dance a key element of his film but not only, sex is also a way of expression for the director who makes it almost looks like a choreography. Dance and sex are then intimately linked and will punctuate the film.

The white lights and the delicate music present in the film participate in the creation of a dreamy feeling throughout the film, as if we were witnessing the memories of a character.

The different actors are all convincing, whether in the moments of life or the moments of dance. There are four main protagonists with two actors per character for Aviva and Eden, one female and one male. These actors will break the 4th wall several times during the film and address directly to the spectator, often naked, which is not an easy task, but it works very well. Nudity also seems to be party taken by Boas Yakin, the characters and the actors deliver themselves to us entirely without any protection.

Through the intimacy of the couple scenes and the energy of the party scenes, all guided by dance and sex, the film keeps a very pleasant rhythm and keeps the spectator on the edge of his seat. This film has an atypical structure, both in terms of storytelling and visuals. But if you let yourself be embarked by this dreamlike atmosphere, relatively disorienting, you can easily appreciate this film.

Facebook

Google

Twitter

We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.