In this fictional country, the peasants are enslaved by a landowner, Rodriguez, who is in cahoots with the Church. While Bardot has placed her revolutionary activity behind her, Moreau swears to the dying George Hamilton that she will take up his cause to fight against Rodriguez. There is one somewhat funny scene with Bardot and Moreau about to be tortured by priests. The tools of the inquisition have not been used for so long that the tongs and racks fall apart in the hands of the would-be torturers, rusty and rotten after so many years. Most of the humor is heavy-handed with bomb dropping pidgeons and a running gag concerning a young man constantly slapped by his mother. The plot device of a peasants' revolution may be a cliche worth spoofing, but Malle and co-writer Jean-Claude Carriere seem ambivalent about taking viewing it either seriously or as satire. Whatever energy was put into creating the relationship and stage routines of Bardot and Moreau disapates in a lazily thought out narrative. It's as if Malle and Carriere had intended to make some points about love and political action, and lost interest along the way.

The first hour of Viva Maria is fairly entertaining. Bardot is totally gorgeous and Moreau looks the best she ever has on film. With the talent involved, one would expect a better film. After Le Feu Follet, Malle probably wanted to make a something fun and more entertaining. Viva Maria is so light that it easily is blown away by even some of Malle's lesser films.