Eden

All told, “Eden” is deeply engrossing throughout and is a compelling look at nasty, vicious characters cracking under trying conditions. The fact that all of this really happened makes this bizarre tale that much more intriguing.

The only weakness of the movie is that, because it’s a true story, it can’t rearrange the order of events for maximum drama. Thus, what is essentially the climax of the film comes about three quarters in, and the rest of it, while never less than interesting, feels like falling action. The good news is that Sweeney and Kirby get their best scenes, respectively, in this last section of the movie.

It’s a little surprising that these proceedings are led by the director Ron Howard, since this subject matter is more perverse than anything he has set his sights on before. The actors are up to the task, however.

The film lacks depth in exploring questions of morality and human nature while depicting Ritter’s lofty goals to save humanity.

The Galápagos affair has been shrouded in mystery for 90 years, but Eden doesn’t offer us convincing insight. It’s film built from obvious assumptions about what happened there, gained from a frustrating distance.

There’s trouble in this paradise: bleak without much of a point to make and bloody without any particular reason, this is an odd attempt at satire that takes a fascinating slice of real-life stranger-than-fiction history and somehow makes it less interesting.

The entire movie comes across as awkward, even flailing to hold our interest.

Ron Howard amadurece seu poder narrativo e vai envolvendo o espectador em personagens bem construídos, mesmo que a cima do tom em alguns momentos, com o típico maniqueísmo que afeta a composição (especialmente em Ana de Armas). Deste modo, a proposta naturalista se esvai em um tabuleiro onde as peças realmente existiram (é baseado em fatos reais), de modo que o cartunesco faz jogar contra o filme. Ainda assim, é possível ter boas sacadas sobre nossas vulnerabilidades enquanto seres essencialmente sociais, e ameu ver mais para o lado pessimista mesmo da inafastabilidade da hipocrisia, do egoísmo e da violência humana.

For seemingly as long as mankind has been around, our species has earnestly sought to escape the world’s ills, searching for paradise in ambitious attempts to start anew. These quests to reinvent the human condition have been found in an array of source materials, too, from Thomas More’s Utopia to the plots of James Bond movies to the Biosphere II experiment. Nearly all of these grand plans, however, have remained virtual, stayed locked in literature, or, despite good intentions, failed. One such initiative with these notions in mind was launched by a pair of German emigres who fled their homeland in 1931 for a hoped-for simpler way of life on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos Archipelago, a place where they could live out their idealistic virtues undisturbed. And their fact-based story provides the basis for this latest offering from writer-director Ron Howard. The film chronicles the saga of Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law), a former physician who sought refuge on the island to write a manifesto about the values needed to set humanity on a new course in an era of out-of-control influences and the rise of fascism, and his partner, Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby), who was looking for a natural, meditative way to cure her worsening multiple sclerosis. However, as word of their courageous venture began to spread far and wide, their experiment captured the attention of the curious, particularly those looking to follow their lead, such as a trio of adventurous homesteaders, disillusioned German functionary Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Bruehl), his kindly, soft-spoken wife, Margret (Sydney Sweeney), and their tuberculosis-afflicted son, Harry (Jonathan ****). Then there were the unabashed opportunists, such as self-described Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas), a hedonistic, less-than-veiled con artist seeking to build an exclusive luxury hotel on the island with a posse of suitors in tow. The peace that Ritter and Strauch sought quickly evaporates with the appearance of the new arrivals, especially when relations become strained and tensions rise among them, prompting the original colonists’ agendas to be compromised or abandoned. And, before long, paradise found turns into survival of the fittest, an ironic twist given the venue in question. In bringing this dark tale to life, the filmmaker presents viewers with a decidedly raw story, one that represents a marked departure from his typical fare, an edge-of-your-seat release with a hefty (though not gratuitous) helping of violent and erotic imagery. At the same time, the narrative is beautifully counterbalanced by its gorgeous cinematography featuring positively beautiful shots of sweeping landscapes and diverse wildlife, all backed by another suitably atmospheric score from composer Hans Zimmer. The picture also boasts a strong and engaging story said to be quite on the mark for its authenticity. However, for all of these strengths, “Eden” definitely would have benefitted from a better screenplay, one that’s less melodramatic and avoids the temptation to play like a 1980s Prime Time soap set in an exotic locale. In addition, the script is at times obviously overwritten, going out of its way to deliberately drive home its points when a little more nuance and subtlety would have been more effective. Thankfully, the performances generally make the dialogue look better than it actually is, particularly in the portrayals by Kirby, Sweeney and Bruehl, though de Armas and Law would have been wise to tone things down a few notches to keep things from coming across as a tad too campy. As it stands now, this is certainly a commendable production that has much going for it, one that could have been significantly improved upon with a few of the aforementioned tweaks. It’s an intriguing, little-known tale that takes place in a distinctive setting and time frame with colorful characters, qualities that genuinely help to set it apart, while simultaneously presenting a familiar cautionary tale that we as a species just never seem to grasp. Try as we might to make a better life for ourselves, unfortunately, we invariably appear to keep falling prey to the curse of losing paradise. Until that changes, it seems we can use all the reminders we can get.

“Edén” resulta interesante por estar basada en una historia de la vida real, una historia inusual, rara y fascinante en concepto. Sin embargo, siento que no se logra desarrollar una narrativa lo suficientemente sólida como para atraparme por completo. Funciona como una opción para pasar el rato, pero no consigue ser memorable ni impactante.

Dans les années 30, un couple de fêlés va faire son Kon-Lanta aux Galapagos... car en effet, Kon-Lanta existait déjà dans les années 30 mais on ne le savait pas. Cependant, voici qu'ils sont rejoints par un autre couple de frappadingues et leur môme. Bien sûr, ils sont végétariens et ils mangent bio. Puis, un peu plus ****, voilà-t-y pas qu'une baronne bling-bling et ses deux blaireaux débarque à son tour ! je ne sais pas ce que vous en pensez, mais on a déjà là de quoi faire un très bon dîner de cons, avec tous ces champions du monde d'un fort beau gabarit, ma foi. Bien entendu, tout ne se passe pas comme prévu et certains échouent à l'épreuve d'immunité... mais il faut attendre... c'était à quel moment déjà... oui, vers 1h30 ou 1h45... soit presque à la fin du film fatigué qui se traîne comme un rat mort. Ou un hareng plutôt, oui, le film se traîne comme un hareng mort ! mais on ne le savait pas, ça non plus. Mais attendez quand même, il y a trois belles nanas dans ce film, ça fait toujours plaisir. Il y a aussi un vieux bellâtre un peu rageux, oui, un petit peu quand même. Il a fait de la muscu, on l'a vu rager sur son banc, ce vieux rageux encore beau : il répétait "je suis un vrai acteur, maintenant, je suis vieux et bien vénère, bordel de merde !!". Et pour vous le prouver, dans le film, il montre sa bite. Mais il est temps de conclure, car le conseil, c'est maintenant : à l'unanimité, il a été décidé que tu es un film rasoir, inutile et futile qui brasse des courants d'air et enfonce des portes ouvertes. En conséquence de quoi, il est temps de rentrer à la maison : tu as besoin de te reposer.

Poor character develpment, unnecesary dramatization, horrible scripting. Avoid at all cost.