I would have liked it more if Criss D'Amato's "Viva a Vida" had delved deeper into the characters, made an effort to understand the complex nature of human relationships, and presented a more nuanced and detailed script. "Viva a Vida" has the perfect essence, but it didn't impact me the way a film with this subject matter could have. So let's find out what happened in the film and whether the protagonist succeeded in her quest.
Jessica worked in an antique shop in Rio de Janeiro and struggled to make ends meet. Her carelessness at work, breaking antiques and ending up paying for everything with her salary, didn't help her. One day, she was in her shop, looking at a new set of antiques that had arrived, when she found the same type of locket her mother had left her. Jessica became curious, and an inner voice told her that the family who had sent the antiques might know more about her mother or her family.
Jessica went to see Gabriel, the man who had sent her those objects, and it was then that she knew she hadn't been wrong in her speculation. Gabriel's grandmother, Miriam, had two sisters, Rachel and Hava. Just days before she was to be married, Hava ran away from home with her lover, Ben, also known as Benjamin, never to return. No one knew where Hava had gone or if she was still alive. It was a huge scandal for the family, who cut off all ties with her, as, they felt, she had dishonored them.
Hava also felt that her own people didn't understand her. She loved Ben; she wanted him to be part of her family, but she was also aware of how stubborn and rigid her own people were. Gabriel didn't know it, but Hava had a daughter who, some 20 years later, returned to live with Rachel. This daughter was Deborah, Jessica's mother. Rachel and Deborah were traveling together when they had an accident. Deborah was only 23 when she died, leaving behind a young daughter. Gabriel and Jessica were unaware at the time why Deborah left Hava and went to live with Gabriel's great-aunt, Raquel. After Deborah's death, Jessica's father refused to take on the responsibility of caring for her. He abandoned her at a very young age and never contacted her again.
Deprived of love and affection, young Jessica desperately wanted to know if any of her family members were still there. It didn't take Jessica long to discover that Hava and Benjamin ran a travel agency in Tel Aviv. She contacted Gabriel, told him she would give him a share of the property she would inherit from her grandparents, and asked him to accompany her on her search. Gabriel had literally been kicked out of the house by his girlfriend, and with nothing better to do, he decided to take Jessica up on her offer. Jessica booked a tour with Ben and couldn't wait to meet her grandfather and tell him who he was. The moment she saw Ben, she couldn't believe he was the same adventurous man who had run away with her grandmother and promised her a life of adventure.
Ben seemed like a tired octogenarian with nothing to look forward to, who preferred routine and the comfort of his pillow to an adrenaline-fueled adventure, and who had practically lost interest in most of the things he used to love. In his time, the man had come to pick up Hava, wearing a leather jacket on his bike. But he didn't seem to have that style now. Ben told Jessica (unaware at the time that she was his granddaughter) that his wife had gotten up one day and left home without saying anything to him. Hava had left him a letter telling her that Ben needed to remember who he was and what their relationship had been like in the past in order to find her. Although Hava had left her, he was the one who had given up on their relationship a long time ago. Yes, he didn't abandon his wife or make reckless decisions, but he simply stopped yearning for the things he once loved.
Deborah's death changed them both drastically. They argued with her, as she wanted to go to Brazil to study. Deborah wanted to live her life as she pleased and told her parents she should be free to do so. Another thing Ben and Hava didn't like was that she was in contact with Raquel, her aunt, and had decided to move in with her. Ben and Hava had been severely mistreated by her aunt's family, and they wanted nothing to do with them. But Deborah left for Brazil, and days later, Ben and Hava received the news of her death. Hava felt it was her fault that her daughter met such a fatal end. Ben and Hava hadn't been speaking to their daughter at the time, and that hurt them even more.
Now that Hava had left home, Ben didn't know what to do. He tried to justify himself by telling Jessica and Gabriel that his experiences had changed him and that it was normal that he wasn't the same person he'd been before. But the important thing wasn't that he'd changed or that he'd taken life more seriously. The fact was that he'd stopped living his life and valuing his wife's existence. He'd started taking her for granted. He felt like the man was simply waiting for the next day and had stopped living his life altogether.
It was Gabriel who noticed that Ben's tour bus took all the tourists to the places where Ben and Hava had made memories. They'd already been to the Western Wall and Solomon's Mines, and Gabriel deciphered, through the letter Hava had left for Ben before leaving, that they would meet her at the last stop on the tour. Meanwhile, Jessica didn't have the courage to tell Ben she was his granddaughter until the end of "Here's to Life." Before she could reveal everything, Ben figured it out on his own and got really angry with Jessica. At first, he didn't believe she was his granddaughter and then told her she had to leave before she lost her temper. So Gabriel and Jessica went to the last destination, and Gabriel's speculations proved right, for they found Hava there. It was the same old place she had gone after her daughter's death. She wanted to jump off that cliff, but Ben arrived just in time and asked her not to. Once again, Hava found herself at a crossroads, not knowing what to do to get the old Ben back and bring happiness back into her life. Gabriel and Jessica took Hava, who spoke to Ben and told him that Jessica was actually his granddaughter. Hava said she didn't need any proof because Jessica had her mother's eyes. Hava would never forget those beautiful eyes, and she knew Jessica wasn't lying to her. In the "Cheers to Life" finale, Jessica was caught by the local police after stealing an antique from her boss's store to buy tickets to Israel for Gabriel and herself. She was forced to sit on a plane, and would have been deported if Ben hadn't made a heroic entrance at the end, pleading with the guards to leave his granddaughter alone once and for all. Ben made the payment on Jessica's behalf, and the embassy ordered the local police to leave her alone.
Jessica and Gabriel had also become very close during the trip. Once Gabriel learned he wasn't related to Jessica, as Hava was adopted by the family, he didn't hesitate to get close to her. There was a moment when Gabriel thought he would simply remain friends with Jessica, but I don't think that will happen. It was a happy ending for everyone. Hava was more than happy to see Ben in his old avatar, wearing a leather jacket and riding a bike.
After everything that happened, Hava and Benjamin realized they needed to learn from their mistakes and move on with their lives. They understood the importance of always seeking happiness. They understood that sometimes life throws you off balance, but happiness, no matter what anyone says, is always a choice. You can choose to carry all the guilt and regret, or look on the bright side and be grateful for what you have.
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