Three dramatically different European families settle on an uninhabited island in the Galápagos, determined to form a new utopia in a world scarred by war and the rise of fascism in the 1930s. But they soon realize it’s not so easy to leave the world behind, and the greatest threat to their survival isn’t the island — it’s each other. 

Based on a true story, Eden is directed by Ron Howard (Arrested Development) and written by Noah Pink (Tetris). The thriller stars Jude Law (Black Rabbit), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds), Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!), and Ana de Armas (The Gray Man).

When will Eden be released?

Stream it now.

Who’s in the cast of Eden?

• Jude Law (Black Rabbit) as Dr. Friedrich Ritter
• Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Dore Strauch
• Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as Heinz Wittmer
• Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!) as Margret Wittmer
• Jonathan Tittel (Crooks) as Harry Wittmer
• Ana de Armas (The Gray Man) as Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet
• Toby Wallace (The Society) as Robert Phillipson
• Felix Kammerer (Frankenstein) as Rudolph Lorenz
• Ignacio Gasparini (Como Hermanas) as Manuel Borja
• Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!) as Allan Hancock

What happens in Eden?

In 1929, only two people live on the island of Floreana in the Galápagos: World War I veteran Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Law) and his lover, Dore Strauch (Kirby). The intrepid pair, sickened by the rise of fascism in post-war Germany, left their entire world behind to start a new, nonviolent utopia off the coast of Ecuador. In between the difficult work of maintaining their simple homestead, Friedrich works on a manifesto — a radical new philosophy he insists will save humanity from itself — while Dore meditates in an effort to cure her multiple sclerosis. The doctor details their peaceful life in letters back to Germany, which are published in national newspapers, gaining Friedrich fame and followers.

Everything’s going according to Friedrich’s plan: He’s left alone in peace to build the values of a new world while also wielding influence back home. Until one day in 1932, when the Wittmers arrive. Inspired by Friedrich’s stories in the papers, Heinz (Brühl); his wife, Margaret (Sweeney); and his son, Harry (Tittel), leave Germany in an effort to heal Harry’s tuberculosis in tropical weather. At first, Friedrich wants nothing to do with them — and he’s especially not willing to share the island’s resources to help them survive. Despite his reservations about their fortitude, however, the Wittmers prove to be hardy settlers and peaceful neighbors. 

The two families live in relative peace until a third group arrives, who’ve also been inspired by Friedrich’s tales. Their reasons for being there, though, are far less pure: The Baroness (de Armas), accompanied by her lovers, Rudolph (Kammerer) and Robert (Wallace), is determined to build a luxury hotel to attract millionaires who want to rent their own slice of utopia. Though Friedrich, Dore, and the Wittmers hesitantly allow the Baroness to settle on the land, she soon purposefully causes discord among them to drive them off the island. She needs their land, after all. But with Friedrich and Heinz willing to do anything to protect their beloved sanctuary, soon all hell breaks loose in this supposed utopia.

Is Eden based on a book?

Eden isn’t adapted from a specific book, but several books were written about the incident, including the memoirs Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor’s Account of the “Galápagos Affair” published in1936 and Floreana: A Woman’s Pilgrimage to the Galápagos published in the US in 1989, as well as the 2024 nonfiction book Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler. The 2013 documentary called The Galápagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden also details the mystery of the missing settlers and investigates whether there was foul play. 

Is Eden based on a true story?

Yes, Eden is based on the story of three groups of Europeans who traded fascism in Europe for island life in an attempt to forge their versions of a tranquil society. Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his lover, Dore Strauch, arrived in 1929; the Wittmer family in 1932 after they read about Ritter and Strauch’s experiment in the press; and, later that same year, Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet and her lovers, Rudolf Lorenz and Robert Philippson. 

However, the three groups clash given their drastically different views of utopia, leading to devastating — and mysterious — consequences. 

“This romantic idea that you could be your best self if you could just get away from modern society is something that we share to this day,” Howard told TIME in an interview about the film. “Yet the problem is we drag society with us because we are society.”

Where does Eden take place?

Eden takes place on the Galápagos island of Floreana, off the coast of Ecuador.

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