If you don’t like all your questions answered, if you don’t want your film experience to be served up as an easy to digest snack. If you’re the kind of filmgoer who likes to watch a movie a second or third time to see what it is you didn’t catch the first time? Then ‘Fever Dream’ is what you’re looking for.
Claudia Llosa has adapted the famous 2014 novel (unknown til now by me) by Argentine author Samantha Schweblin, directing with a steady hand and a grasp of the source material far beyond the viewer’s, I think. But that’s okay – after watching the first time, I immediately went to Reddit forums where I learned that the readers of the original novel, a short 200-pager, had just as many questions and interpretations as I had. In fact, I was so enthralled by the various Reddit posters’ ideas that I watched the film a second time. And then a third.
I will only describe the bare minimum of plot – the movie starts with Amanda (Maria Valverde) a woman lying on her back, talking in her head to a child named David (Emilio Vodanovich). The boy (again, this is narrated) is asking Amanda to remember how she got here – here, on her back, probably dying from who knows what?
From there we go back in time as Amanda remembers that she and her daughter came to this idyllic country house to spend the summer, soaking up the sun and the green meadow outside the door. They’re waiting on her husband to join them later. A gregarious (and hot) neighbor Carola (Dolores Fonzi) brings a couple of pails of drinking water as a one-woman Welcome Wagon.
So here’s why I don’t recommend reading any plot spoilers before watching: we are not sure what’s important and what’s now. And there fact that the voice of David admonishes Amanda to pay attention to certain parts of her recollection because they are important makes us even less steady on our feet—can we trust this David who is, to be honest, kind of creepy? Although that particular question might be answered, many others will pop into your head.
Upon the second viewing, you’ll catch more. But you are surely smarter than I – 30 years of doing this hasn’t made me any better at figuring out inscrutable art films. But I sure like to try. This one was especially fun.
One final note:On Netflix, you can watch Fever Dream in its original Spanish with subtitles or in different languages. My eyes have gone bad lately, and watching on a small screen, I decided to go for the English dub. I don’t regret it – it’s a very well done dub.
Fever Dream is now streaming globally on Netflix at: http://www.netflix.com/FeverDream, and was released in these theatres on October 6th.
The Paris Theater, New York City
The Landmark, Los Angeles
Los Feliz 3 Cinemas, Los Angeles
Landmark E Street Cinema, Washington, D.C.
Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinema, San Francisco, CA
Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, Cambridge, MA
Landmark Mayan Theatre, Denver, CO
Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Atlanta, GA
Landmark Renaissance Place Cinema, Highland Park, IL
Landmark Ritz Five, Philadelphia, PA
The Landmark at Merrick Park, Coral Gables, FL
