Aviva (2020) User Reviews

Original, strange, interesting, but poorly executed.

[orosenb · 6/10 · 25 December 2020]

The story of Aviva and Eden's relationship unfolds, with each of them being played by two actors: a male and a female - representing each character's masculine and feminine sides. In some scenes the male and female sides of the same character converse/fight with each other. On the one hand it's somewhat confusing, but on the other hand it gives a fresh perspective on how conflict within the individual affects a romantic relationship.

Dance is a major language in this film, and much of it is in the nude - which I believe serves both to highlight the centrality of sex in the relationship and how exposed we are in a truly intimate relationship. Being a modern dance enthusiast, the concept was thrilling to me, and I was extremely excited watching the first dance numbers, but later thoroughly disappointed - as they are mostly well executed but very poorly choreographed.

The music, BTW - by the remarkable Asaf Avidan - is great.

Finally, I would have liked to be kinder, but honestly there's no other way to describe the acting but cringe-worthy, and thus I found it difficult to really sympathize with Aviva and Eden's moments of happiness and pain.

It's so sad, because here's a film with such original and fascinating premise and approach to telling the story - but at the end of the day due to bad acting and boring choreography I spent half of film literally wishing it had been better executed, so I could truly feel for the characters and enjoy the film.

Very Little of this Works

[dbowkerD · 4/10 · 4 January 2023]

I don't normally "pile on" when there are already fairly negative reviews, but even going in with an open mind (and low expectations) wasn't enough to prepare me for HOW frustrating this film was. Many have either knocked it for "not enough dance" or not "good enough" dance, which are valid but actually sit well down the list for me as to what is wrong.

To me, the ENTIRE conceit that these two women had "male" inner/alter egos just did not work on ANY level. Could they, maybe, in some other form? Yes, I can imagine it though I still don't see the point. Why have a story about two women and hardly ever show them as women? There were so few scenes with them both who they actually were (women) that it made it impossible for any sort of character development to happen, and the chemistry between the various "alter" couplings was practically nil. The sex scenes were clumsy for the most part, which I guess comes down to the use of non-actors (all dancers) though again, for me it was just the jarring fact that every one of them were depicted as opposite sex versions of themselves. If it were 50/50 it might have worked a little, but this was 100% of them.

Even simple scenes where the two women might be sleeping next to the other, or having breakfast, had one of them as a man. Not only did neither of the women present as "masculine" in any way, but the men "playing" the women did not at all feel the women they supposed were playing. It was as if the director was telling a story (of two women in a relationship) that they didn't actually want to tell at all. Why this would be, I never could figure out. The other feeling you start to get by the end is that maybe they cast two women really uncomfortable with any physical contact with one another. Maybe that wasn't the case in reality, but that's how it feels.

The Dance Aspect I'll admit, I am not a huge "dance" fan and in many respects I'm not even sure that the art-form is a good match for film in general. Nor do I think multimedia is a great thing to bring into dance performances. That said, the times I've enjoyed dance productions the most have all been live and in person. That's kind of the whole point it seems to me; being in the space that they are and feeling the energy that comes from the performance. This applies to classical ballet as much as modern dance too.

Sure, there have been "some" great films that have heavily featured dance, albeit usually in the form of musicals, but the format here felt forced most of the time, other than the first scene where the two main characters were conversing via email. That actually kind of worked, chiefly because we were seeing a kind of abstracted emotional representation of what was happening behind their words. But as others have said, that was at the very beginning, and all but a few others seemed either thrown together or just out of place.

Still, in the end, it was less the dance than the storytelling that didn't work, and especially the "alternate" characterizations.

A mesmerizing fever dream

[brettwalker-29470 · 31 December 2020]

Beautiful, sexy & bold meta-cinema with polarizing effect on the viewer. This one is for lovers (not haters) of experiential-experimental narratives, dance films and for the uninhibited.

didnt understand whats its about . mind screwed movie.

[afterdarkpak · 3/10 · 4 January 2021]

Nahh, not for me , its sooo very MIND F$# movie, couldnt understand whats going on... lesbian , gays , orgies and then open relationship.. didnt get anything.

Just a movie about this stupid generation who just like sex like animals n parties.

Imaginative and inventive

[ray-singer · 8/10 · 4 January 2022]

This work is a fascinating exploration of modern love relationships, commitment, and psychological function. As a psychologist, from my perspective, the work tells a tale of what you might term "split personalities" of everyday existence, and coping with competing "voices" that have almost a delusional quality, exploring the limits of coherent psychological function. It explores the intricacies of passion, and tells the tale from both a male and female perspective.

The choreography was outstanding, and the direction showed the director's appreciation of contemporary dance's ability to express emotion that cannot be put adequately into words.

The music was carefully selected and composed to lend a very up-to-date feeling, yet the production tells a timeless story of the intricacies and contradictions of sexual relationships and it's place in eroticism and love.

Mr. Yakin's production may well be studied in film academies for it's inventive use of multiple actors to express and exhibit what many experience in their daily lives as discordant internal voices. And his use of dance and mime create a magical atmosphere of human expression.

In order to fully enjoy the work, viewers must allow the work to penetrate on it's own merits.

The work's release during the Covid debacle has prevented the distribution that the work deserves.

I feel so sorry for the actors and dancers

[Gordon-11 · 9 January 2021]

The actors and dancers work hard and gave up their modesty for an unworthy film. There's no story, no engagement, and often the director forgot to budget for clothes. The dancers are random, and there's just too many explicit sex scenes that have nothing to do with the minimalistic story. I feel very sorry for the actors and dancers who sacrificed much.