The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden
Darwin meets Hitchcock in this documentary. Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have created a parable about the search for paradise, set in the brutal yet alluring landscape of the Galapagos Islands, which interweaves an unsolved 1930s murder mystery with stories of present day Galapagos pioneers. A gripping tale of idealistic dreams gone awry, featuring voice-over performances by Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, and Gustaf Skarsgard.
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- Cast:
- Cate Blanchett , Sebastian Koch , Thomas Kretschmann , Diane Kruger , Connie Nielsen , Gustaf Skarsgård , Josh Radnor
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Thanks for the memories!
Best movie of this year hands down!
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
German and French expatriates relocate to the Galapagos Island of Floreana, where their dreams of solitude take a tragic turn after a series of disappearances. A cast of voice-actors wonderfully narrate the writings of the residents, while current interviews from those who live on the islands paint a vivid picture of what the settlers were searching for and what could've gone wrong. The whole affair is brilliantly pieced together in a cinematic three-act structure, with the majority of the subject's actions being shown through photographs, newspaper clippings and archive footage. Shortening or cutting out an interview or two would've improved the pacing. Meant to shed light, not give answers. If you want a realistic story of trouble in Paradise, look here!★★★½ (out of four)
A documentary telling the story of some early European settlers and the strange disappearance and deaths of some of them. It is told using actual footage, photographs and writings from some of those involved and some of the surviving ancestors. I found this to be a fascinating and absorbing film about interesting real life characters trying to find their own bit of paradise in a beautiful but ultimately hostile environment. It doesn't try and solve the mysteries but instead gives you the facts and let's you decide for yourself. In particular I loved the grainy black and white film of the people that really brings the story to life. This is one of the better documentaries I have seen. It will only find a limited audience but if like me the subject matter strikes you as interesting then it's well worth watching.
I have no regrets about seeing this unusual film. I don't think I've ever seen a documentary like it. The tale of a Nietzsche-inspired couple going off to live self-sufficiently on a tiny Galapagos island would be gripping enough. Add the other elements -- the "Baroness" who decides to settle on the island after them with her two lovers, and the bizarre and deadly events that ensue -- and it's really an amazing story. Why, then, was the documentary so slow and, at times, dull? I think there were too many long, largely irrelevant interviews with people who lived on a nearby island. Their lives were quirky in their own way, but not that interesting, with little connection to the main story. I don't think it's bad to note that others lived on the Galapagos, but I don't think these interviews added much, and at times they were pure digressions. While not omitted entirely, they could have been cut dramatically. This is a riveting true story, but only parts of the documentary are riveting.
I found this movie fascinating from several perspectives. First of all, it is the story of a supposedly everyday German couple that decide to abandon their regular lifestyle and head off to a remote location on the other side of the world. Wow you would think that this was a 60s couple heading off to Marrakesh! Well no, we have Friedrich Ritter a respected doctor, a veteran of the great war and also married. He decides to pack up and leave with his mistress Dore Stauch, also married, to live on the other side of the world.This is no ordinary doctor, we are told that he loves Nietzsche, but not much else about his politics other than the fact that he comes from an old conservative family. Could it be like many artists and visionaries that he saw the future from this period in 1934 and didn't like what he saw?We see the development of their life on one of the small islands of the Galapagos and its ups and downs. We are shown original movie footage and newspaper clippings which really lock you in. Next we see the arrival of the other settlers, the Wittmers and the Baroness and her entourage. The Baroness wants to develop a hotel for rich Americans and sure enough a ship full of them show up to explore the strange press tales that are being published. Again all original footage.We also get to meet all the current inhabitants of the island and how their histories develop from the original settlers, this is also extremely interesting. It seems to me the Friedrich and Dore made a good decision to explore the world!