Viva

Bored with her workaholic husband and suburban lifestyle, precocious negligee-clad housewife Barbi goes in search of adventure in predatory 1970s Los Angeles. Stumbling through the sexual revolution, Barbi encounters nudist colonies, swingers, sadists, bisexuals, drugs, orgies, and prostitution in her search for liberation. She quickly discovers life can be rough for a girl out for kicks.

Drawing on an encyclopaedic knowledge of classic exploitation cinema (Herschell Gordon Lewis and Radley Metzger are strong influences), director/writer/set designer/actress Anna Biller meticulously reconstructs the soft-porn aesthetic of Playboy-era America in this charming and hilarious feminist satire.

From the stilted, aloof acting to the peek-a-boo lingerie and custom-made wardrobe to the scavenged period furniture and hotly-lit, colour-saturated sets, Biller crafts a glistening camp fetish object while keeping a critical eye to the trials for women during the cinematic 'sexual revolution.'

Kyle Stephan