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The Fever

Name: The Fever
Director: Maya Da-Rin
Released: 2021
Duration: 98 min

Representation Score

9.2/10

Excellent

2021

Not Rated

Director

Maya Da-Rin

Runtime

98 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Maya Da-Rin’s work is a sensory-driven disruption of conventional cinematic structures. It succeeds by centering indigenous and Black subjectivity through an experimental lens that avoids including someone from a minority group without giving them real depth. The film's strength lies in its refusal to adhere to Western narrative hegemony. The film's focus on a protagonist's internal physiological state provides a profound look at identity and isolation. By centering the Desana experience, it moves beyond traditional ethnographic depictions to offer something more deeply personal. While the film excels in racial and cultural subversion, it remains moderate in LGBTQ+ representation due to a lack of explicit identity-driven plotlines. The focus remains primarily on the protagonist's internal, sensory reality.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Fever have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film avoids typical relationship clichés and focuses on a non-straight perspective. However, it doesn't include clear depictions of same-sex relationships or non-cisgender identities.

How does The Fever portray gender?

Good

The film highlights the female perspective by emphasizing the internal sensory experience of a female protagonist. This approach avoids the male gaze by focusing on a visceral connection with the body.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Fever?

Excellent

The film centers a Desana protagonist and explores indigenous and Black identity. It avoids Western ethnographic clichés, giving high ability to act to characters of color.

How does The Fever represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film rejects Western-centric storytelling standards and emphasizes subjective truth over institutional reality. It uses sensory isolation to deconstruct the importance of external social institutions.

Does The Fever include disability representation?

Good

A mysterious fever is used to explore physical and psychological vulnerability. The film treats this altered state as a sensory journey rather than a spectacle of suffering.

Present on Screen

Centers Desana and Black identities through a non-traditional, non-shallowly inclusive lens.
Subverts the male gaze by prioritizing female subjective and sensory experience.
Rejects Western-centric narrative structures in favor of ontological relativism.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit depictions regarding LGBTQ+ identities or same-sex intimacy.
The experimental structure may obscure specific identity-driven plotlines for some viewers.

Official Synopsis

Justino, a 45-year-old member of the indigenous Desana people, is a security guard at the Manaus harbor. As his daughter prepares to soon depart to Brasília, Justino comes down with a mysterious fever.

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