La Fièvre Monte à El Pao

La fièvre monte à El Pao (also known in English as Fever Mounts at El Pao or Republic of Sin) is a 1959 film by director Luis Buñuel.^[2] Gérard Philipe died four months after the filming. This was his last film.

La fièvre monte à El Pao
La fièvre monte à El Pao poster
Directed by	Luis Buñuel
Written by	Luis Alcoriza Luis Buñuel
Produced by	Gregorio Walerstein Raymond Borderie
Starring	Gérard Philipe María Félix Jean Servais Miguel Ángel Ferriz
Distributed by	Films Borderie Terra Films Cormoran Films
Release date	5 December 1959 (1959-12-05) (France)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Box office	1,591,282 admissions (France)[1]

Plot

On the remote Caribbean island Ojeda an agitated population kills their despotic ruler Mariano Vargas. His secretary Ramón Vázquez takes over and tries to reinstate public order. Meanwhile, Alejandro Gual, leader of a special military unit, tries to take the place of Ramón Vázquez. Knowing that Ramón Vázquez had an affair with the dictator's wife Inés, he tries to turn the widow against her lover.

Cast

• Gérard Philipe as Ramón Vázquez
• María Félix as Inés Rojas
• Jean Servais as Alejandro Gual
• Miguel Ángel Ferriz as Gouvernor Mariano Vargas
• Raúl Dantés as Lieutenant García
• Domingo Soler as Professeur Juan Cárdenas
• Víctor Junco as Indarte

Release

In 2008, La Fièvre Monte à El Pao was screened in Retrospective section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.^[3]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Fever Rises in El Pao has an 80% approval rating based on reviews from five critics, with an average score of 7.1/10.^[4]