The Magic Fire

the long version

THE MAGIC FIRE concerns a family of Italian immigrants in the Buenos Aires of the 1950s at the time of the death of Eva Perón. The father, Otto Berg, himself a refugee from Nazi Austria, and his family find themselves trapped in the fascist system of Juan Perón’s regime, and once again retreat, taking private refuge in books, music, theatre and the arts. Their next-door neighbor, Henri Fontannes, a high-ranking officer in the Peronist army, is most likely involved in secret police activity in which enemies of the state are known to “disappear.” He and his wife, Angelica, share with the Bergs the geographical location of their living quarters and an ardent love for the arts. When the reality of the political situation enters the Bergs’ own apartment (their maid’s brother is in hiding there), they are forced to confront their ethical choices—morals and politics in place of art, and Fontannes becomes the only man who can help them.