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.
The mysteries are fascinating, all the more so because they are still unsolved.
– Bill Goodykoontz,
Arizona Republic,
15 May 2014
fresh:
A dazzling documentary about an unsolved murder in an ad hoc community in the Galapagos islands in 1934.
– Tirdad Derakhshani,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
9 May 2014
rotten:
"The Galapagos Affair" spins a strange and compelling tale, with perfectly sinister music by Laura Karpman setting the mood. But the movie is better at building suspense than following through.
– Stephanie Merry,
Washington Post,
8 May 2014
rotten:
The film feels less like a whodunit than a "why didn't they do it sooner?"
– Colin Covert,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
24 Apr 2014
fresh:
Though the pace occasionally flags during its two-hour running time, "The Galapagos Affair" is a fascinating look at a place of great beauty and remoteness, and at the kind of people drawn to live there.