Okay, so I’ve mentioned The Fever of ‘57 twice in one week now [mb, mb]. If you were at the world premiere at SIFF Friday night, you’d understand my enthusiasm–this is a great film that deserves a huge audience. From the opening segment which shows extremely rare, never-before-seen footage of Sputnik’s launch into space to the closing credits there is not a single dull moment in this film. You still have a chance to see it this weekend–it’s at the Neptune Sunday morning at 11 and, believe me, it’s worth getting up early.

I expected The Fever of ‘57 to be interesting and informative like any good documentary, but I wasn’t prepared for just how fascinating it was and just how well director David Hoffman tells a complex story in such an accessible way. The archival material in the film is amazing–John Glenn’s a few hours post-Sputnik assertion that “someday” we might have a man in space and footage of young children donning gas masks in a nuclear attack drill are two standout pieces that amply illustrate the movie’s theme: how the elation from what many consider mankind’s greatest scientific achievement soon turned to fears of global themonuclear war. Hoffman shows that those fears weren’t exaggerated and asserts that it is fortunate for the world that the leaders on either side of the Cold War–the Soviet Union’s NIkita Khrushchev and the United States’ Dwight Eisenhower–were determined to prevent an arms race spiralling out of control into the ultimate disaster. Interviews with key figures of the day and experts on the subject add further depth to the story and some of the most intriguing parts of the film come from interviews with Khrushchev’s son, Sergei, and Eisenhower’s granddaughter, Susan, who give us otherwise unobtainable glimpses at these important historical figures.

I was most impressed by Hoffman’s ability to make history feel alive in the now. This movie isn’t just about the past. The story it tells and the message it shares are as timely now in 2007 as they were in 1957, if not more so.

Related posts:

1. Fever of ‘57 in focus
2. SIFF Notes: Fido
3. SIFF Notes: Paprika
4. SIFF notes: Black Irish
5. SIFF Review: Let the Right One In