Directed by: Daniel Geller | Dayna Goldfine
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Kretschmann
Written by: Dayna Goldfine, Daniel Geller, Celeste Schaefer Snyder
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Darwin meets Hitchcock in this true-crime tale of paradise found and lost. The Galapagos Affair is a fascinating documentary portrait of a 1930s murder mystery as strange and alluring as the famous archipelago itself. Fleeing conventional society, a Berlin doctor and his mistress start a new life on uninhabited Floreana Island. But after the international press sensationalizes the exploits of the Galapagos’ “Adam and Eve,” others flock there – including a self-styled Swiss Family Robinson and a gun-toting Viennese Baroness and her two lovers. Clashing personalities are aggravated by the island community’s lusty free-love ethos, and when some of the islanders disappear, suspicions of murder hang in the air leaving an unsolved mystery which remains the subject of local lore today. (c) Zeitgeist
Movies during the spring and summer sometimes lack an interesting story. With a critical reaction all over the island map, The Galapagos Affair Satan Came to Eden can be accused of many things but it is quite the tale told. A fascinating story told in a way that both engages and slowly meanders, The Galapagos Affair Satan Came to Eden takes audiences on a mystery of murder, intrigue, and kooky characters. The subject matter doesn’t live up to the documentary, but I still can recommend it regardless of this disconnect.
Sometimes a storyteller isn’t up to par to tell a great story. This is the main issue I had with The Galapagos Affair Satan Came to Eden. I felt like the subject matter deserved a more experienced documentary filmmaker. There were elements of the movie I enjoyed especially the look of the movie using talented voice overs (Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger and Connie Nielsen.) older footage, interviews, graphics, and even the score. With it being said, The Galapagos Affair: Satan Comes to Eden is slowly paced but interesting. The cast of characters are interesting, but how the story is told had an amateur feel. I wanted more from the movie. I don’t want to discuss much more about the documentary, because the less the viewer knows, the better of an experience it will be. With this persisting pace, I can still recommend this doc as a soapy escape.
I rate ‘The Galapagos Affair Satan Came to Eden’ a 6.5 out of 10.
