Fever At Dawn

Showings

Castro Theatre Tue, Jul 26, 2016 8:55 PM
Cinearts at Palo Alto Square Thu, Jul 28, 2016 3:45 PM
Roda Theatre Fri, Jul 29, 2016 9:00 PM
Film Info
Director(s):Peter Gardos
Editor(s):Ádám Fiers
Principal Cast:Gila Almagor
Milán Schruff
Péter Scherer
Cinematographer:László Seregi
Screenwriter(s):Zsuzsa Bíró
Country:Hungary
Israel
Sweden
Year of Production:2015
Running Time:110 min.
Language(s):Hungarian w/ English subtitles
Categories:Narrative
Premiere Status:Northern California
Genre-Subject:Drama
Relationships & Romance

Description

Generous Support for this program provided by The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation. Co-Sponsored by Dan Granoff.

A Swedish refugee camp doctor gives Holocaust survivor Miklós six months to live. But the young man refuses to die before meeting the love of his life. He sends letters to 117 Hungarian women in sex-segregated camps throughout Sweden. The response of 19-year-old Lilli captures his heart and his imagination. Fever at Dawn, the story of director Péter Gárdos’s parents’ courtship through correspondence and rare visits, takes place both in 1945 Sweden, as winter approaches, and in present-day Jerusalem. The film is based on his novel of the same name. Terrific performances by a primarily Hungarian cast (the mature Lilli is portrayed by Israeli doyenne Gila Almagor) capture the range of refugee experiences. The Hungarian Jews portrayed here emerge from concentration camps and are sent from Germany to Sweden as part of the famous “White Bus” rescue operation to alleviate a variety of diseases, including tuberculosis, much like the people profiled in Magnus Gertten’s documentary Every Face Has a Name (SFJFF 2015). Crisp cinematography, both in color and in black-and-white, creates indelible images of heartbreak and hope. A strong musical score by award-winning composer Atti Pacsay reflects the conflicting emotions of the often overlooked years immediately following the end of World War II. —Sara L. Rubin

Subject Milan Schruff in person