Jungle Fever (1991)
(Spike Lee, US 1991, 132 min., 35mm)
Original 35mm print
Brilliantly shot, Jungle Fever depicts the explosive consequences that ensue when hot shot buppie architect Wesley Snipes and his new secretary Annabella Sciorra contract the title affliction. The wrath and disapproval of their respective families and communities conspire to break up the affair, and the film suggests that such unions based primarily on lust and curiosity are doomed by their own superficiality. As with most of Lee’s films, though, it’s not just about one thing, and also explores the cultural and familial effects of the drug epidemic through the older brother of the family, as Lee directs both Samuel L. Jackson and Halle Berry to eye-opening performances.