The Fever

When I read a description of "The Fever" and saw that it stars Vanessa Redgrave and Michael Moore, I knew that I was in for something politically charged. But I didn't realize how politically charged. Redgrave plays an anonymous rich woman who takes a trip to an economically depressed country with no identified name or geographic location (although it looks kind of like they combined Latin America with Eastern Europe). Coming down with a fever there, she now has to reassess how and why she lives a privileged life, and whether or not she even deserves it.

I wholeheartedly recommend this movie, not least as a study of the class system dominating the world. Not only do they look at that, but also at the oft failed aim of revolutions (the leaders quickly become as corrupt as they thugs whom they overthrew). But it certainly sides with the pro-democracy movement over the oligarchy; after all, democracy is the worst form of government except all the others.

Anyway, this is one that you have to see. It's no surprise that Wallace Shawn wrote this, given the great work that he's done in the past. Also starring Angelina Jolie, and directed by Carlo Nero (Vanessa Redgrave's son whom she had with "Camelot" co-star Franco Nero).

This film is not meant to be a denunciation of capitalism or an embrace of Marxism, only an examination of the intrusion of one upon the other. It does well reflect Vanessa Redgrave's own personal conflict between her own privileged existence and the less fortunate (by her standards) in the Third World. This is the eternal dichotomy facing so many (though not all) First World liberals. They fail to see that capitalism developed as a result of peasants informing themselves, working together and rising up to replace the hegemony which has dominated them. Historically, it has been a slow process, often taking centuries, even millenniums. First World liberals want to see it happen rapidly, but the Third World isn't ready for it. Those countries and their people must go through the process of education that will bring them to the point where they can successfully undertake "the revolution." It may not initially succeed, not because the cause isn't righteous but because the people aren't sufficiently steeled to survive it. The reviewers of this film, for the most part, only see the perceived injustice - capitalism is the oppressor, because of its success. But that is only because they see the Third World peoples aspiring to be the First World's definition of success. There is no indication that this is true. Rather, it would seem that the so-called "poor people" just want life to be a bit better. Over the long run this will work its way to great success. The process cannot be rushed; historically, that has never worked. There are many capitalists who see their mission as helping to make lives a little bit better, in small steps which can assimilated, not upheaval which can't be encompassed in such a large dose. That is why one cannot impose democracy on a country which is still living in a society rooted in the way of life of centuries ago. In my view, the film acknowledges this while still encouraging us to accept the challenge of reaching out. The reviewers, mostly, missed it.

I categorically disagree with the comment left by the last person. I believe that individual missed the point of the movie entirely. This was an observation of first world Capitalism through the eyes of someone who was exposed to the concept of Marxism. Through the eyes of Marxism, the statements made, (not only with regard to the reasons for poverty conditions in third world countries, but the self-realizations of "place in the world" delivered by Vanessa Redgrave), are entirely accurate. The movie acknowledges that some of the concepts of Marxism are impenetrable and even dead, if not antiquated. It does, however,take an artistic view of how, through that belief system, a woman who is fully immersed in Western commerce is given the opportunity to look at how things are in this world through another belief system. A belief system which, by the end of the movie, is given somewhat of a revival because of the truth about what Capitalism (and prior to that Imperialism) does to third world countries. Poor governmental structures are not the cause of third world poverty, rather the result of societies that have no importance to first world governments. Vanessa Redgrave's performance is truly outstanding. The movie is not to be missed, with which to either agree or disagree.

I kept waiting and waiting for the interesting twist. The flash of insight, the window into the human sole.

All I got - a pathetic excuse for marxist apologetics which glosses over any real politics with a healthy dose of hand-waiving. A waste of 83 minutes of my life which I will never get back.

If you are a socialist then there a far better films. If you are not then this is hardly in danger of challenging your convictions. Go read the motorcycle diaries!

It feels as if this was written by a guilty middle-class teenager who has just returned from a gap year funded by mummy and daddy. I am surprised that Michael Moore stooped to be in this film, his brief cameo is one of the few highlights of an otherwise lifeless and self-indulgent romp through cliché and rhetoric.

Adapted from Wallace Shawn's play, The Fever is a rather obscure film. It was made as an HBO film, but it never received much support from the network and subsequently was aired years after it was completed with little fanfare. It's the story of an upper-middle class woman's political awakening as she learns why there is such a massive gap between the rich and the poor, while coming to a realization about her own place in society. It utilizes long monologues and animated sequences to illustrate certain points, and it powerfully describes the exploitative and imperialistic relationship the first world has with the third. While some reviewers say it's about "white guilt," more accurately it's about understanding the true nature of capitalism, as well as what is necessary to bring a new and better world into being: revolution. Hollywood legend Vanessa Redgrave stars and lends considerable gravitas to the controversial material.