An Enemy of the People

A public health hazard threatens the lives of an entire city, but when a doctor discovers the truth about its cause, a politician fears that disclosing it will hurt tourism and the local economy. Moreover, in contradiction to science, religious leaders believe that the town will be protected without taking any action, relying on superstitious beliefs. The health issue thus becomes politicized, the heart of this drama, and the one who is trying to tell people the truth is branded an "enemy of the people" by those not acting in the community's best interest. It's brother against brother, when everyone should be working together to prevent an epidemic. The politician distorts the truth in a fiery speech to a crowd, playing on their anger and ignorance, and manipulates others into speaking against him as well.

Satyajit Ray saw in Ibsen's 1882 play truths that applied to India over a century later, and it's easy to see the parallels to the events in America and other nationalist countries over the past couple years, which are really quite striking. That's something that could have really resonated with me, but the trouble is, the film is too lethargic to really enjoy. Most of its scenes are indoors, dialogue-heavy, and repetitive. There is just not enough meat on the bones of this story, and the characters are flat. It has its heart in the right place, and imagining people in the current public eye as the characters in the film provided some level of enjoyment, so for those things it was worth seeing, even if it did fall a little short.