Eden

THE WORLD ECONOMY COLLAPSED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

- FASCISM IS SPREADING. -

PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE TO FIND A WAY OUT.

DR. FRIEDRICH RITTER AND DORE STRAUCH LEAVE GERMANY AND TRAVEL

AROUND THE WORLD TO THE UNINHABITED ISLAND OF FLOREANA.

ON THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.

THE WORLD LEARNS OF RITTER'S RECLUSIVE LIFE THROUGH HIS LETTERS,

WHICH ARE OCCASIONALLY PICKED UP BY A PASSING SHIP.

TO WRITE A RADICALLY NEW PHILOSOPHY

THAT WILL SAVE MANKIND FROM ITSELF.

What is the true meaning of life?

Pain.

In pain we find truth...

...and in truth - salvation.

INSPIRED BY THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED.

Dear Mother,

by the time you receive this letter,

we'll have sold off all of our worldly possessions

and bought a one-way ticket to the Galapagos.

Harry?

Young Harry's health

has continued to decline,

but we cannot afford the doctor's recommendation

of two years at a sanatorium,

and Heinz has been inspired

by Friederich Ritter's quest for a better existence.

This is Floreana?

What were you expecting? Paradise?

Hmm...

I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye,

but I could not handle another lecture

about how I married a man broken by the war.

Finally.

I'm simply doing what you always taught me,

supporting my husband.

It's true.

This is not the life I imagined for myself,

but I also never imagined having to choose

between paying rent and buying food - no longer.

And remember Harry, Dr. Ritter has no teeth, so don't stare.

- I won't. -Let's get changed.

The article says it's a 45 minute trek uphill.

I know you must think I'm crazy

and perhaps I am,

or perhaps the world has gone crazy

and escaping it is the only sane thing to do.

Time will tell.

Yours always, Margret.

They're praying. We should go.

Don't be silly. They're atheists.

Hello!

Excuse me. Hello.

Big smiles now. Harry, you too.

Excuse me.

My name is Heinz Wittmer.

This is my wife, Margret and my son, Harry.

-You must be Dr. Ritter. -Hmm...

And you are his wife, Dore Strauch?

Ah, no.

Are you not Dore?

No, I am, but I'm not his wife.

Marriage makes you sick.

What brings you to Floreana?

Why - you did.

Your story inspired us to leave everything behind

and start anew.

Did our story involve these little safari outfits

and that butterfly net?

Apologies, the newspaper said this is how you dress.

What newspapers?

They've been publishing your letters.

You've been a sensation in Germany for over a year now.

Did the letters say I came here to be alone?

Ah, I'm drawn like a hunchback.

-Are there more of these? -Oh yes. Plenty.

Here...

Come.

Come see my garden.

Thank you.

As we are strict vegetarians,

this is our main source of food.

Chicken wire keeps out the feral pigs.

- There are pigs? -Wild pigs, cows, dogs.

There are many pests.

Many pests.

You're a child bride, no?

Excuse me?

Oh, I just, I look at you, I look at your little son.

I do the math.

Oh, Harry is not my son. His mother passed away.

I'm Heinz's second wife.

Oh...

You want to come say hello?

Christ! They are all so shallow.

They are a bit sensational but,

they capture the magic of your life here.

Nothing about our life here is magic.

Do you know how long it took me to clear this brush,

and build, garden?

12 months. Then there's the issue of water.

What issue?

There is none, no lakes, no rivers, nothing.

No, just two tiny springs that collect the rain.

Do not be fooled by our success, Herr Wittmer.

No one else has been able to survive,

because life here is gruesome - frustrating.

Failure is inevitable.

Oh, did you bring food in that haversack?

No, no, no. Don't! Do not startle that.

That's a Goliath. Its sting can kill you.

Everything on this island can kill you.

Well, we didn't come here to relax, did we?

Why did you come, exactly?

My son had tuberculosis.

His doctor prescribed a sanatorium,

but given the sordid state of Germany,

even a man like me with a good government job

couldn't afford it.

Friederich hates that I pay him so much attention.

Why?

He says to love an animal

is to indulge in our petty human desire

for constant affection.

Burro...

How bad is it, in Germany?

- It's disgusting. -No, it's inevitable.

Well, I don't know.

Everyone loves to fight for freedom, then we get lazy.

Democracy leads to fascism, leads to war.

Democracy, fascism, war - repeat.

And our chickens...

Is it true Frau Strauch has been healed

of her multiple sclerosis?

-She will be. -That's wonderful.

May I ask how?

You and the rest of the world will find out

when I finish my manuscript.

Dore!

Lend the Wittmers your ass.

Here we are.

You can sleep in those caves.

Pirates carved those out years ago.

They'll keep you somewhat dry.

And for water, the spring is there.

Bring the donkey back tonight or Dore will have your head.

That is our water source?

I don't like them.

She's a simple hausfrau, he's a naive bureaucrat

and their son, oh my God.

They're going to need so much help.

We came here for isolation

and now we're being crowded by this family.

It's not fair on humanity,

who's depending upon you finishing this work.

What does Nietzsche say, hmm?

There is chaos in a--

Do I advise you to love thy neighbor?

-No. -No.

Escape thy neighbor.

I settled them in the caves.

Oh my...

It's impossible to garden up there.

Yeah, you're a genius.

They'll be gone before the rains end.

[exaggerated insect and animal noises growing louder]

I hate this place.

Breathe! Breathe!

Come on!

Stop! Climb it. Climb it.

Same dream?

Heinz, I'm late.

It's been three cycles now and I'm late.

Are you sure?

Congratulations, my love.

Out! Go!

Out!

It's going to be all right.

For most of human history,

we have tricked ourselves into believing