From the hand of Ron Howard it comes to us Edena thriller based on the attempt to create a paradise on one of the Galapagos islands in whats 30s, and it ended in the worst possible way. The production premiered last September at the Toronto International Film Festival, although at the moment it is unknown when it will arrive in Spain.
Starring by Jude Law and Ana de Armasalso has a luxury cast, with Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl or Sydney Sweeney. All this to give shape to what was born as an attempt to create an idyllic place away from civilization and that did not have a happy ending. “Paradise” was filmed in Australia.
The film begins in 1932, when a dark character arrives on the island, the “Baroness” Eloise Wagner (Ana de Armas), who tries to establish her private hacienda, which puts her at odds with those who already live on the island in relative peace, such as the couple Ritter and Dore (Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby) or the family of Heinz and Margret (Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney).
The real facts
The story told in the film began in 1929 and lasted five years, during which time numerous mishaps occurred and a tragic ending. During that time, a small group of people, and in three different phases, decided to go live in the Floreana Islandthe largest in the Galapagos archipelago (173 km2).
In September 1929, the German doctor (or dentist, it is not known for sure) Friedrich Adolf Ritter and his partner Dore Strauchthey settled on the island. This escape from civilization was actually a social experiment that was recounted through newspaper articles. The couple knew the problems they could have living in isolation, so before traveling they decided to extract all their teeth and create false dentures. They lived without clothes, so the newspapers called them the “nudist camp.”
The Ritters wanted to live in peace and tranquility, even so they had some contact with ships that arrived at the island, with which they carried out exchanges and barter. They also wrote letters to family or friends, some of which ended up in the newspapers, making their “paradise” known. The world began to learn about the modern “Adam and Eve”, which sparked curiosity among some millionaires, such as philanthropist Allan Hancock (played in the film by Richard Roxburgh) and new settlers. Three years later came the marriage of Heinz and Margret Wittmeralso Germans, who arrived with their twelve-year-old son James and another who was on the way and who was born a short time later on the island, the first birth of the colony. The Ritters did not welcome the new tenants and the doctor refused to assist in the delivery.
But everything changed at the end of 1932, when Eloise (whose name was Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet), an Austrian who called herself a baroness (a title never proven) along with two lovers of German origin and an Ecuadorian servant. Dore Strauch defined it as “Satan came to Eden” in the book he wrote after his return to Germany. Unlike those on the island, the “Queen of Floreana” wanted to attract attention and publicity, and at the same time attract investors to build a luxury hotel. He called his tin hut “Hacienda Paraíso.”
Felix Kammerery and Toby Wallace
Soon they emerged issues between Ritter and the Baroness or between Eloise’s own lovers, jealous of each other to capture all the attention of “their queen.” In 1934, when the trio had not even been on the island for two years, the tragedy occurred that wiped out a large part of the small population of Floreana. Few certainties are known and even there is a lot of mystery about what really happened.
The baroness herself had wounded by a gunshot to a Dane who acted as interpreter for the governor of Galapagos, who had visited the island in response to Ritter’s repeated demands about the activities carried out by Eloise. But in March, suddenly, the baroness and her favorite lover disappearedRobert Phillipson. Speculation indicates that they may have been murdered by the third party, Rudolph Lorenz. However, on a nearby island the lifeless bodies of Lorenz, supposed murderer of both, and of a Norwegian sailor with whom he had decided to flee. Who killed them is unknown. Neither the body of the baroness nor that of her lover was found.
Ritter died at the end of 1934, probably intoxicated by Dore, where cohabitation had been deteriorating the relationship. Some of the journalists who visited the island had reported the abuse he suffered at the hands of the doctor. Apparently, he may have “forgotten” to treat chicken meat to avoid botulism, which was ultimately the cause of death. Dore left the island a few weeks later to return to germany. Only the Wittmers remained in Floreana, although more people arrived after the end of World War II. They even created a small hotel for tourists. Heinz died in 1963 on the island. Margret returned to Germany and died in 2000 at the age of 96.
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