The Plague (1992)
In a city in South America an outbreak of bubonic plague occurs. While people try to flee and the military close the city, an idealistic doctor decides to stay and help the sick. In the ever-changing circumstances, he puts up a brave fight, being helped by others but also involving them without being able to control the situation.
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Thanks for the memories!
Sorry, this movie sucks
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Well, well, well...After having read so many different views about this film, I just had to add my own. Lots of people are disturbed that it's so far from the book. Usually I hate that myself, but in this instance I am somehow easily able to compartmentalize, and see the film as something separate. I think it can be viewed on it's own as a great film, and I find it something that I will watch again, and again. I've also read that many people find the erotic elements gratuitous, but I've always found that 'sex and death' is a close 'idea relationship', in the human psyche.Sex and or intimacy are affirmations of life, in the face of it's opposite. People do lots of strange things when faced with death and the possibility of death, especially when it is expected, and in such a familiar form... what reasonably educated person doesn't know what this type of disease involves? I find that I can live with the changes of story and time setting in this film, and feel that it is just a fascinating movie which it is easy to view as an entirely 'stand alone' piece in it's examination of different personalities in crisis.
Too talkative. Crappy acting. Pathetic writing. I could go on for a while... It is a shame that such good material was wasted. The film is clueless, since the makers had no vision. The film even manages to become boring. It also tries too hard to be meaningful and deep, but it just isn't intelligent enough. The photography is OK, though. But that's about the only good thing in this movie. As far as I know the film is only out on DVD in Asia. The DVD can often be found on eBay. Not that I would advise you to buy it, though.The DVD is 4:3.Some of the actors deliver performances that are far below their usual standard. This must mean that director Puenzo did a lousy job.
People seem awfully hard on this movie, and I don't quite understand why.It must suffer in comparison with the book. Granted no filmmaker could possibly match Camus brilliance, but this is a pretty solid movie. One thing that disappointed me was the descision to remove the story from the time period. The time setting is integral to the allegory. All in all, though, a good reconstruction.
A fine example of the whole being less than the sum of its parts, this film might be more favorably received if we had been given more hints of its surreality. I certainly enjoyed it as a portrait of a city under stress; its residents not thinking clearly about what was really happening. Certainly I shared their struggle. And who knows, any of our cities may someday suffer as Oran did.