If you want the story that has everything, you’ve found it; distant tropic paradise, sexual intrigue, eccentrics, neighbourhood disputes, love triangles… there’s nothing this story ain’t got.
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden kicks off in 1929 when German doctor Dr Friedrich Ritter and his mistress Dore Strauch leave Berlin to start a life free from human civilisation on the uninhabited Floreana Island in the Galapagos archipelago.
Things proceed mostly to plan until word gets out back in Germany of their Robinson Crusoe adventure and they’re joined by the uninvited and unwelcome Wittmer family, with one child and another one on the way.
Later, other unsolicited but intriguing guests appear, in the form of a delightfully eccentric, though possibly dangerous, gun-toting Viennese Baroness with her two lovers, Philippson and Lorenz.
After several twists and turns, the tale morphs into a true-crime whodunnit, with three separate mysteries around the final fate of four of the principle protagonists, but only one of the mysteries was ever definitively solved.
Thanks to meticulous note-taking, letters and archival footage the story is captivating and the characters are always three-dimensional. One of the most bizarre pieces of footage is a ‘pirate movie’ made by the Baroness and an American ship’s captain, her breasts on almost full display as she cavorts with her lover Philippson, who plays her lover in the movie in what some might call terrible type-casting.
While the movie might seem tame by our modern-day standards, it would have been hugely risqué for the 1930s and hints at some of the more hedonistic aspects of the Baroness’ life on the island, where she was hoping to open a hotel playground for the rich and famous.
The narration of the letters and writing by the main characters is undertaken by some big Hollywood names, including Cate Blanchett and Diane Kruger, adding some star power to production, though it seems wasted.
The documentary tirelessly interviews descendants of some of the key figures of the story, as well as other members of both the settler and native communities of the Galapagos.
Unfortunately it falls over in some of the technical aspects of its execution. It could have done with less of the modern-day interviews – it’s not always clear why we’re hearing from some of these people and often takes us away on tangents that make following the storyline very difficult. It also makes the film feel longer than it needs to be.
The music was also embarrassingly Miss-Marple-esque and could have been a bit more subtle in its thrill-inducing intent.
While there are obviously questions about this crazy tale that will never be answered, there were some that could have been addressed, for instance, it’s not until the very end of the movie that we’re told that Margaret Wittmer a central character in the tale, wrote a book, Satan Came to Eden.Is this what formed the basis for the movie? The filmmakers don’t tell us anything substantial about the book or its contents, but include a suggestive and loaded quote that she allegedly gave them: ‘closed mouth admits no flies’.
The story itself is no doubt intriguing, but some over-extension by the film makers made it feel like this documentary was trying a little bit harder than it needed to.
While ultimately an enjoyable watch, one can’t help but feel that if the filmmakers had allowed the story, its colourful characters and stunning archival footage to speak more for themselves, without quite so much additional scene-setting, frills and tangents, the final movie would have been a more powerful and compelling proposition.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden
Directors: Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine
USA, 2013, 120 min
Melbourne International Film Festival
www.miff.com.au
31 July – 17 August
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