eden movie review 2015

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Eden Review

Eden is a low-key film about a high-energy musical genre, but its languid pace and episodic storytelling turn out to be entrancing rather than enervating. Appropriately, for a film tracking a French DJ’s rise and descent, it is sometimes more useful to pay attention to the beats and lyrics on the soundtrack than the dialogue in the screenplay. That the prose doesn’t rise to the level of the pulsating house music is a tad disappointing, considering that the story is loosely autobiographical: director Mia Hansen-Løve’s brother, Sven, was a disc jockey for two decades.

Sven also co-wrote the drama, which spans more than 20 years, beginning in November 1992. Eden focuses on Paul (newcomer Félix de Givry), a musician in the garage house subgenre trying to catch his big break in his hometown of Paris. One half of a musical duo named Cheers, he yearns to find an audience (or at least a niche) in the booming local electronic music scene. (The other half, Hugo Conzelmann’s Stan, is frequently ignored throughout the story and disappears for large sections.)

Narratively, Eden doesn’t stray too far from the conventions of a story set in and around the music industry. As the century turns, Paul moves from crushed cocaine powder to crushing debt, while he keeps jumping from bedroom to bedroom. Structurally, Hansen-Løve’s film is atypical. It is divided into two halves: the first, “Paradise Garage,” keeps the screen time fairly equal between the throbbing rush of club life in Paris with Paul’s personal life, while the second, “Lost in Music,” throttles ahead toward personal problems near the present day and puts the score on the backburner. The first half is a dizzying experience, filled with chapters of whirlwind romances and the vigor of youth. Meanwhile, the second half is a gloomy daze, as Paul tries to figure out how to keep himself both stable and inspired.

The drama tracks the protagonist’s journey through music. Not only does Paul’s popularity reflect the shifting cultural of the past 20 years, but the sound of the music itself – playful and thrilling at points, distant and monotonous in others – becomes a mirror for Paul’s mindset. The camerawork also informs the protagonist’s sense of being. The film opens on a dim street in the early morning hours just after a rave: before any light appears in the sky, Paul saunters down the street, getting lost in the fog. Hansen-Løve focuses on the lack of exact form in moments like these, as well as early club-set scenes, to project Paul as a young man that is hard to discern from the masses. Cinematographer Denis Lenoir, a frequent collaborator with Olivier Assayas, makes no concessions for clear lighting in the early nightclub sequence; there, when the lights go down, everything blends together.

While music is prominent throughout the drama, there is also an emphasis on several of Paul’s relationships. In his late teens, he falls for another wannabe writer, Julia, played by Greta Gerwig. When Julia moves to New York, he moves on to a young music connoisseur, Louise (Pauline Etienne). Both Gerwig and Etienne emote more than de Givry, who lets both the dazzle and the gloom of the music inform a large part of his performance. In one scene, the lyrics from Daft Punk’s “Within” serve as a perfect encapsulation of Paul’s despair. (“Many rooms to explore but the doors look the same,” the vocals purr robotically.) However, the soundtrack is too often more evocative than the screenplay.

Ultimately, Eden is more transfixed on mood and theme than character. If Paul is a variation of Sven, he still only feels half-formed, a character more defined by the apexes and nadirs of artistic success he reaches than any sort of creative process. We learn of his intentions to be a writer and Cheers’ musical approach to blend the sounds of the New York-based garage scene with a more pop-friendly electronic sound; unfortunately, we learn little about why Paul wants to pursue these creative peaks and how he eventually wades into the pool of fame and fleeting fortune.

Hansen-Løve’s film, at 131 minutes, could have easily sacrificed the moments of club chaos and routine relationships for a more insightful look into Paul’s musical journey. The character only becomes compelling in the final third, after the story jumps into the “Lost in Music” chapter and Paul has to reconcile with some bad deals and disappearing crowds. It is here when one of the director’s key creative choices – not aging de Givry much beyond his baby-faced teen years – begins to make more sense. Paul looks almost the same in the late 2000s as in the early 1990s, indicating that he still has some growing up to do. Music is Paul’s fountain of youth: as one character tells him in part two, “It’s crazy that you haven’t changed.”

The creative decision to keep Paul’s look static throughout the years creates a sense of defeat and longing in the last half, as he harkens back to long nights of dizziness and dancing. Eden improves as it approaches its melancholy final third, as the story of a musical scene refines its focus into one of personal reflection. What begins as a scenic and sometimes dull biography transforms into an ultimately poignant trip.

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There’s a lovely little old-school manual typewriter in “Martin Eden,” director Pietro Marcello ’s adaptation of Jack London ’s semi-autobiographical novel. The protagonist of the title sits behind the mechanical device while transferring his innermost thoughts to the page. As Martin ( Luca Marinelli of “ The Old Guard ”) hammered away at the keys, I was reminded how much I love the sound a typewriter makes. And because I am old, I was transported back to my schoolboy days when I banged out poetry and book reports on my old Smith-Corona. Ah, what glorious noises those things made, so much so that Dolly Parton wired their “tap-tap-tap-tap-DING!” percussion into the backbone of “9 to 5.” Typewriters were the soundtrack of a committed writer making a difference, a glorified and romanticized notion I subscribed to back when I young, foolish and full of optimism.

That sounded like a digression, but it’s not. Martin Eden wants to rise above his status by becoming a great writer with Something to Say™. The film sees this as noble, righteous even, and it expects us to understand his frustrations while putting up with him being a callous and not particularly wise jerk. He can’t see the predictable paths his actions will take, which is aggravating and plays in a way I am not sure the filmmakers intended. Though it draws attention to the socialist ideals of its source material, the transplant to another country splits the proletariat and the elite into two very canned clichés. The former just fights all the time or is repeatedly lectured; the latter is a bunch of snobbish boors who are terrified their precious daughter might run off with someone broke and uncouth. At least until that guy finds some success.

A sailor by trade, Martin has that familiar aspiration of joining a more elite group he despises because he’s in love. So he embarks on a quest to educate himself past the grade school levels he achieved before he was sent to sea at age 11. Part of the catalyst for his self-improvement is the French poet, Baudelaire. You may remember Baudelaire from my review of the dreadful thriller, “ Backgammon .” In that film, the antagonist used quotes from the writer to upset his giggly girlfriend and her party guests. I haven’t read a single line of the guy’s work, but based on my reviewing history here, he’s the patron saint of cinematic characters who are pretentious and dull.

But I digress. Marcello and his co-screenwriter Maurizio Braucci transfer London’s novel from Oakland to Italy, which gives ample opportunity for viewers to ogle the scenery. There is also what appears to be old footage from real and fictional sources, including some gorgeous old shots of a massive ship at sea. Since we know Martin’s original profession, the moment where this majestic, multi-sail ship sinks should have been accompanied by one of Fellini’s clowns popping up onscreen while holding an arrow that said “SYMBOLISM.” As our hero rises above his station so that he may be worthy of the family of his bougie love interest, Elena Orsini ( Jessica Cressy ), his soul basically sinks into the abyss.

Elena’s meeting with Martin is far from a Meet Cute. He saves her brother, Arturo ( Giustiniano Alpi ) from a beating on the docks and, as thanks, is invited to dinner. It’s there where he discovers Baudelaire has a fan in Elena and sparks fly. The other members of the Orsini clan, while thankful for him saving Arturo, can’t wait for him to leave. Alas, Elena finds him endearing, so they sort of have to put up with him for the time being. Thankfully for the Orsinis, Martin decides to better himself while on his next voyage. He devours everything he can read, and is bitten by the writing bug that he hopes will bring him success while also highlighting the plight of his class.

Behind that aforementioned typewriter, Martin churns out piece after piece, all of it extremely angry and so raw in its fury that it keeps getting rejected by every outlet he solicits. In most movies, there’s that shot of the stack of “past due” bills that someone adds yet another envelope to; here it’s a stack of Martin’s own envelopes being marked “ Return to Sender ” by uninterested publishers. It’s telling that the most romantic moment in “Martin Eden,” the one genuine moment of emotion that works, is when Martin’s first success letter comes in the mail. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but the moment made me swoon with understanding.

The rest of me was far from impressed with “Martin Eden.” It’s a slog at over two hours, much of it spent with Marinelli screaming or acting coarse. Once he has enough success to help fund his causes, he still remains preternaturally disillusioned to the point where we can’t take him seriously. It’s like being privy to someone hate-watching life. Marinelli, who is in almost every scene, makes an admirable attempt at keeping us involved, but we already know what’s going to happen 20 minutes before the film shows us. So, we’re left impatiently drumming our fingers while Martin attempts to strangle his dying provocateur of a mentor, Russ Brissenden ( Carlo Cecchi ) before bearing witness to yet another one of Martin’s endless verbal rages against the machine. It all ends where you’d expect, especially if you were paying attention to that sinking ship.

If seeing people scream and holler while standing in front of beautiful Italian scenery is your thing, might I suggest Joseph Losey ’s “ Boom !”? At least that’s lively, has Noel Coward , Richard Burton , and Liz Taylor and doesn’t attempt to impart anything important. The agony “Martin Eden” feels toward his works not really making a difference will only resonate if you have the same feelings he does about your own creativity. It’s funny how the saying goes that artists “suffer for their art.” Because sometimes they also pass that suffering on to us consumers.

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Odie Henderson

Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire  here .

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Martin Eden (2020)

125 minutes

Luca Marinelli as Martin Eden

Jessica Cressy as Elena Orsini

Vincenzo Nemolato as Nino

Marco Leonardi as Bernardo

Elisabetta Valgoi as Matilde Orsini

Pietro Ragusa as Signor Orsini

Carlo Cecchi as Brissenden

Aniello Arena as François

• Pietro Marcello

Writer (novel)

• Jack London
• Maurizio Braucci

Cinematographer

• Alessandro Abate
• Francesco Di Giacomo
• Aline Hervé
• Fabrizio Federico
• Marco Messina
• Sacha Ricci

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Ron Howard’s Eden Release Date Rumors: When Is It Coming Out?

By Tamal Kundu

Directed by Ron Howard, Eden is an upcoming suspense thriller film. Reportedly based on a true story, the film revolves around a group of people who move to the Galápagos Islands in search of the meaning of life. If you want to know when Ron Howard’s Eden is coming out, this is what we have discovered.

Here’s all the Ron Howard’s Eden release date information we know so far, and all the details on when it is coming out.

Is there a Ron Howard’s Eden release date?

Ron Howard’s Eden could arrive by mid-to-late 2024.

The project, previously known as Origin of Species, was officially announced in October 2022. Deadline had reported that Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard would direct and produce (through his Imagine Entertainment banner) the film from a script by Noah Pink (Genius). Another Academy Award winner, Hans Zimmer, later joined the project as the music composer. As per Collider , production started in November 2023 and concluded in February 2024. Therefore, it is anticipated that Ron Howard’s Eden will come out sometime in mid-to-late 2024.

This date is an estimation based on the information we have at the time of this writing.

The cast of Eden includes Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby, Jude Law, and Daniel Brühl. The film also features Richard Roxburgh, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Ignacio Gasparini, and Paul Gleeson.

Where is Ron Howard’s Eden coming out?

Ron Howard’s Eden is anticipated to come in theaters in mid-to-late 2024.

This is because Howard developed the film to be a theatrical release.

ComingSoon will provide an update when there is more news about the movie.

The official synopsis for Ron Howard’s Eden reads:

“A darkly comic tale of murder and survival, focusing on an eclectic group of characters who abandon civilization for the Galápagos Islands. They are all searching for the answer to that ever-pressing question that plagues us all: what is the meaning of life?”

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A student of cinema, Tamal has written on a wide range of topics over the years — from entertainment to literature to pop culture. At ComingSoon, he is an SEO Contributing Writer developing content on films, TV, and anime.

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Stream It or Skip It: ‘Eden’ on Netflix, Offering Hope for Humanity in a Bleak, Dystopian Future

Where to stream:.

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In the dystopian sci-fi world of Eden , humans vanished over 1,000 years before the time the show takes place. What’s left are clusters of robot settlements filled with mechanized workers that grow and harvest apples. One day, a pair of robots happen upon a human baby named Sara (Ruby Rose Turner). The workers, A37 (Rosario Dawson) and E92 (David Tennant), take it upon themselves to care for the infant, despite their preconceived notions about humanity and the rules of Eden Three, which forbid them from caring for the tiny human.

EDEN : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: The Robotic Code of Ethics is displayed as a narrator goes over them. The screen cuts to two massive robots duking it out in a desert, with one clearly coming out on top. We see a close-up of the loser’s cockpit, revealing a fiery-haired young girl. It’s Sara.

The Gist: In a world where humanity has been gone for over 1000 years, two robot apple-pickers take in an infant human named Sara. Though the world has all but outlawed humans, with an evil robot dictator named Zero working to eliminate any that seem to crop up here and there, there’s still some goodness left in the world. That much is clear from the robots who want to do their best to shield Sara from harm. But when Sara finds there may be more humans left, how will her world and the way she views it change?

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Though the bright and cheery coloring won’t bring gritty series like BLAME! to mind, parallels can certainly be drawn to the way that humanity has been all but eliminated in both shows. Though the malicious Safeguard AI is responsible for the downfall of humans in BLAME! , the bleak outlook for those left to struggle is very much the same.

Our Take: After farmer robots A37 and E92, take in the infant Sara, despite being woefully ill-equipped for doing so, Eden kicks off as a tale that follows the young girl’s growth over the years as she develops into an intelligent and curious young woman. We see humanity’s impact on the Earth’s environment and the downfall of the pale blue dot we call home. The world, with only robots at its helm, is doing just fine on its own. Sara’s robot parents work to keep her safe from the tyrannical Zero, all the while Sara continues to deal with life as one of the only humans on a planet without her own kind. We’ve seen stories like this one before, but Eden imbues a sense of warmth and excitement not often noted in similar media. There’s still a thread of hope for Sara (and even humanity) as you watch the robots’ interactions and get to know each individual player. There’s reason to believe there’s a bright light at the end of the bleak tunnel, even though most of humanity is long gone.

Sex and Skin: None here.

Parting Shot: Sara works to communicate with others as the realization sets in that there’s someone in Eden Three, but she has no idea who it might be. We have a glimpse of exactly who it is (Zero) and upon seeing such, the episode fades out. And it seems the future is grim, for the time being…

Sleeper Star: Zero is the machine dictator of Eden Three, voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, and he’s satisfyingly terrifying and intimidating. Resembling something out of a Western fantasy series or a space death knight, he commands a certain awe if you find yourself in his presence, and he steals the scenes he’s in. Simply looking at Zero might make any surviving human a little uncomfortable.

Most Pilot-y Line: One of the most pilot-centric lines actually comes at the tail end of the first episode, where Sara happens upon a device that beckons visitors to come to Eden Three. “There’s someone in Eden Three…but who?” Sara wonders aloud. It should be cause for celebration, but we know that it’s the vehicle for Zero to track down the human “threat” so it can be removed.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Eden is a bright, warm, and colorful depiction of a dystopian future where humans have all but disappeared. It’s disarmingly cheerful, even when dealing with some particularly bleak subject matter. For anyone looking for a quick watch that deals in heady subject matter, sci-fi tropes, and great-looking robots, good and bad, Eden is absolutely worth a look.

Should you stream or skip the dystopian sci-fi anime #Eden on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) May 28, 2021

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake .

Watch Eden on Netflix

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Well crafted and acted, Declan Recks' Irish domestic drama "Eden," adapted from his own play by Eugene O'Brien, offers an intimate portrait of a husband and wife who have stopped communicating with each other.

By Ray Bennett , The Associated Press July 2, 2008 9:00pm

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Edinburgh International Film Festival

EDINBURGH — Well crafted and acted, Declan Recks’ Irish domestic drama “Eden,” adapted from his own play by Eugene O’Brien, offers an intimate portrait of a husband and wife who have stopped communicating with each other. While its universal theme and avoidance of melodrama made the play successful in Dublin, London and New York, the screen adaptation is laudable but its natural home appears to be television rather than cinemas.

The Bottom Line Empty

Aidan Kelly plays a genial telephone lineman whose ordinary home life is starting to grate after several years of marriage: His eye has started to wander. His wife, played by Eileen Walsh, knows their marriage is tottering but her patient response to his unarticulated woes only makes things worse.

Writer O’Brien and director Recks poke their noses cleverly into the lives of the couple and their family, friends and workmates. They structure their divergent activities on a dismal anniversary evening with considerable skill.

Kelly and Walsh give first class performances in a production headed for a smart TV channel.

Production: Samson Films in association with Radio Telefis Eireann and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland with the participation of The Irish Film Board.

Cast: Aidan Kelly, Eileen Walsh, Padraic Delaney, Karl Shiels, Lesley Conroy, Sarah Greene. Director: Declan Recks. Screenwriter: Eugene O’Brien. Producer: David Collins. Director of photography: Owen McPolin. Production designer: John Hand. Music: Stephen Rennicks, Hugh Drumm. Costume designer: Louise Stanton. Editor: Gareth Young. No rating, 85 minutes.

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Martin Eden plays with history to tell a ragù to riches story

Pietro Marcello transposes Jack London’s novel from California to Italy in a sweeping, ravishing adaptation which creates a grand metaphor for 20th century Italian society.

7 July 2021

By  Giovanni Marchini Camia

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► Martin Eden is in UK cinemas from 9 July.

In transposing Jack London’s semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman Martin Eden from San Francisco and Oakland to Naples and its periphery, Pietro Marcello and his co-writer Maurizio Braucci were deceptively faithful to their source material. The Morse family, whose cultural sophistication and lofty social status bewitches the eponymous sailor, are now called Orsini, a name that belongs to one of Italy’s oldest aristocratic dynasties, and the ending has undergone some embroidering, with the finally successful Martin no longer an idealist whose life force has been extinguished, but a bitter and dissolute cynic lashing out at the world. Otherwise, the plot and most important characters remain largely untouched.

Rather, Marcello’s adaptation is an exercise in streamlining and condensation. Martin’s trajectory from wide-eyed proletarian to jaundiced celebrity is drawn in one fluid stroke, the struggles and successes of his dual pursuit of a writing career and Elena Orsini’s hand all integrated within the same inexorable motion. Edited with ravishing elegance by Aline Hervé and Fabrizio Federico, the fleet concatenation of clipped scenes is experienced as a flow that sweeps Martin along, almost more a passenger than an active agent in his own story.

The images are never less than gorgeous, but the delicate sentiment of the beginning, as when Martin visits the Orsini mansion and takes in all its splendour with childlike wonder, charming Elena through his exuberance and innocence of spirit, gradually dissipates in this forward rush. Luca Marinelli’s charismatic performance goes a long way towards counteracting this loss, though it unfortunately succumbs to caricature by film’s end, once Martin has been reduced to an archetype for the sake of allegory.

Marcello elaborates the story’s symbolic thrust through an ambiguous treatment of period. The initial impression that the film takes place, like the novel, towards the start of the last century is contradicted through subtle anachronisms, such as the too-modern lamp on Martin’s desk.

Though there are numerous echoes of real historical developments, the chronology is equally jumbled. The kind of trade unionist debate that Martin is brought to by his mentor Russ Brissenden, where he takes the stage and inflames the crowd with his social Darwinist beliefs, is something that would have taken place prior to Fascism. But in the film’s coda, when Martin has achieved fame and lost his political convictions – following a time jump of a decade or two at most – his sponsoring of a left-wing terrorist group would seem to set the finale during the ‘Years of Lead’, from the 60s to the 80s.

Martin is thus presumably meant to represent the Italian 20th century, embodying the notion of upward mobility as a curse visited by the bourgeoisie upon the Italian proletariat – the ‘cultural genocide’ decried by Pasolini – but the forsaking of historical specificity has a universalising effect, diluting the impact of the film’s critique. Without genuine anchoring in reality, what is left after the narrative distillation described above is a rags to riches story, a cautionary tale about the corrupting power of wealth and success.

This is reinforced rather than offset by Marcello’s signature use of archival footage. As in his earlier experiments in hybrid storytelling, short clips interspersed throughout – a boy and girl dancing in the street, an illiterate man learning to write, a sailing ship sinking – serve as lyrical counterpoints to the narrative.

The images of shipbuilding and industrialisation in The Mouth of the Wolf (2009), or the news coverage of anti-Camorra demonstrations in Lost and Beautiful (2015), heightened the poignancy and relevance of the films’ fictionalisations by weaving them into the historical fabric of their respective settings.

In Martin Eden, Marcello’s first fully fledged fiction, much of the archival material is fake, shot in 16mm then tinted blue or yellow to resemble old footage. Marcello doesn’t try to pass it off as authentic – he would have been hard pressed to find a clip of a boy writing “Martin Eden” on a blackboard – but its inclusion only adds another layer that is pretty yet artificial to a film that could use more of the opposite.

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Season 1 – Eden

Where to watch, eden — season 1.

Watch Eden — Season 1 with a subscription on Netflix.

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Justin Leach

Marika Kono

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Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.

A young Korean-American girl, abducted and forced into prostitution by domestic human traffickers, joins forces with her captors in a desperate plea to survive.

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In Mia Hansen-Løve’s films , the camera is always moving — seamlessly flowing from scene to scene in fluid long takes as if it’s mirroring the rhythm of life. Granted, all her films have always been about how her characters deal with the sudden changes that are happening in their lives. In Things to Come , it’s divorce; in One Fine Morning , it’s death; in Goodbye First Love , it’s heartbreak. It’s no exception, then, that in her fourth feature Eden , her protagonist also faces a major life change against the current of time, albeit caused by a professional reason this time.

Drawing from her brother’s, Sven Hansen-Løve, personal experience, the French auteur has created a poignant exploration of the passage of time and the often isolating consequences of pursuing one’s passion with Eden . The film is set against the backdrop of the evolving EDM scene and takes us on a mesmerizing journey through the life of its protagonist, Paul (Fèlix de Grivy), as he navigates the highs and lows of being a DJ for over two decades.  With Hansen-Løve’s evocative and subtle storytelling, the film serves as a reminder that while we strive for perfection, the relentless march of time waits for no one.

The film begins in the early 1990s, a time when the French electronic music scene was in its nascent stages. Paul and his friends embark on a passionate quest to create the perfect party and DJ sets. Their idealism is palpable, and the energy of youth propels them forward as they chase their dreams. The pulsating beats, hypnotic melodies, and the communal experience of dancing all night create a sense of euphoria that is unmatched, and all the characters in Eden are so consumed by this euphoria that it becomes their driving force. They are so obsessed with achieving the perfect party to the point where it blinds the characters to the world changing around them.

As the film progresses, we witness the relentless passage of time. The once-thriving electronic music scene evolves, and new sub-genres emerge. The venues that were once packed with fervent dancers slowly lose their appeal, and Paul finds himself facing the harsh reality of change. But instead of trying to adapt, Paul myopically believes that his idealism will be enough for him to survive those changes, which ultimately cost him nearly all his youth. Friends change careers and exes move on and start a family, while he’s stuck in the same place as when he started DJing.

Hansen-Løve masterfully uses cinematography and music to capture the passage of time. Long takes and seamless transitions between scenes create a sense of continuous motion, mirroring the constant evolution of the music and the characters’ lives. Her decision to make Paul look the same from start to finish while the other characters have different hairstyles and appearances emphasizes this notion even more. “It’s funny that you haven’t changed,” utters his ex-girlfriend when they meet in New York. The soundtrack, featuring iconic EDM tracks from different eras, serves as a musical timeline, reminding us of the ever-changing nature of the genre.

As the years roll by, we see the toll that Paul’s unwavering pursuit of his passion exacts on his life. Financial struggles, strained relationships, and a growing sense of disillusionment become his companions. Paul, enamored with his music, transforms into a spectator of his own life. Opportunities slip away one by one and he ultimately becomes disconnected from the world outside his DJ booth, leaving him estranged from family, friends, and eventually his own life.

In the latter part of the film, we see Paul reflecting on his journey. The once-thriving EDM scene has evolved into something unrecognizable, and Paul finds himself playing smaller gigs to diminishing crowds. It is during these moments of introspection that he realizes the cost of his myopia. Nostalgia permeates Eden as Paul and the audience look back on the past which now leaves only bitter memories.

Paul’s journey echoes the experiences of many who become so engrossed in their dreams that they lose sight of the world and people around them. The film portrays the loneliness that can stem from pursuing a singular passion at the expense of all else. As we follow Paul’s journey toward the end, we are reminded that while we strive for greatness, time marches on, and the world around us evolves.

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Eden Review

By Rich Cline

Director-cowriter Megan Griffiths refuses to sensationalise the tabloid aspects of this harrowing true story about human trafficking within the USA. As she follows the central character into a nightmare of forced prostitution, the film could have easily exploited the sexual situations. Instead, she takes a matter-of-fact approach that's deeply unsettling. The filmmaking may sometimes feel a little simplistic, but it raises issues in ways we never expect.

The true story begins in 1994 New Mexico, where 18-year-old Hyun Jae (Chung) goes on a date with a seemingly nice guy (Mechlowicz) and is suddenly sold into black-market slavery. She's renamed Eden and forced to work as a prostitute alongside much younger girls. Living in a series of warehouses overseen by crooked cop Bob (Bridges), Eden continually tries to escape and is met with brutal punishment as a result. Finally, she decides that her only hope is to get close to their pimp Vaughan (O'Leary), a young veteran with a drug-addiction problem. But as she gets to know him, she realises that he's trapped as well.

The film explores much more complex aspects of the captive-captor relationship, as Eden becomes increasingly close to Vaughan, helping him with his work and even ratting out some of the other girls who break the rules. Of course, there's an event that snaps Eden back to attention, leading to the necessary confrontation. But all the way through, filmmaker Griffiths focuses on the psychological and emotional side of the story, leaving much of the actual violence and sexual abuse off-screen. Just a bit more detail, and a clearer sense of the chain of events, might have made the film's gut-punch much stronger.

On the other hand, without needing to portray the darker physical side of things, Chung is able to focus on Eden's internal struggles. Meanwhile, the brothel seems unusually clean, with mandated twice-daily showers and regular medical care, even as these women are victims of hideous degradation. This means that the "villains" are much more layered than we expect. So against our better judgment, we begin to like O'Leary's pimp right along with Eden. And that's the thing that chills us most of all.

Facts and Figures

Year : 2012

Genre : Dramas

Run time : 98 mins

In Theaters : Friday 19th July 2013

Distributed by : Phase 4 Films

Production compaines : Eden Productions

Contactmusic.com : 3.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes : 82% Fresh: 27 Rotten: 6

IMDB : 6.7 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director : Megan Griffiths

Producer : Jacob Mosler , Colin Harper Plank

Screenwriter : Megan Griffiths , Richard B. Phillips

Starring : Jamie Chung as Eden, Beau Bridges as Bob Gault, Matt O'Leary as Vaughan, Tantoo Cardinal as The Nurse, Naama Kates as Svetlana, Scott Mechlowicz as Jesse

Also starring : Matt O'Leary , Jacob Mosler

• Eden Movie Site
• Rotten Tomatoes

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Directed by Megan Griffiths

Innocence isn't lost, it's stolen.

The true story of Chong Kim—abducted into the sex trade as a young teen—and the complicated moral choices she had to make in order to survive as her situation grew more desperate.

Jamie Chung Beau Bridges Matt O'Leary Tantoo Cardinal Naama Kates Scott Mechlowicz Russell Hodgkinson Tracey Fairaway Roman Roytberg Laura Kai Chen John Farrage Bhama Roget Demetrius Sager

Director Director

Megan Griffiths

Producers Producers

Colin Harper Plank Trent Broin Jacob Mosler

Writers Writers

Richard B. Phillips Megan Griffiths

Story Story

Chong Kim Richard B. Phillips

Casting Casting

Emily Schweber

Cinematography Cinematography

Sean Porter

Production Design Production Design

Ben Blankenship

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Laurie Hicks

Stunts Stunts

Sherril Johnson

Composers Composers

Joshua Morrison Matthew Emerson Brown Jeramy Koepping

Costume Design Costume Design

Rebecca Luke

Centripetal Films EDEN Productions

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

Chinese English Spanish

Releases by Date

20 sep 2012, 11 mar 2012, 06 feb 2013, 18 mar 2013, 13 nov 2013, releases by country.

• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical 16
• Premiere Athens Film Festival

Netherlands

• Theatrical R

98 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by matt lynch ★★ 1

nothing this horrific needs to be presented so conventionally and "tastefully". if the film is going to hurt her, it has to hurt us. otherwise it's tourism. it cuts away just because it's afraid we can't handle it. us not being able to handle it is ultimately what would protect this film from the charges of exploitation and prurience of which it's so terrified. personally i think it's a total cop out. as for Chung, she patiently rescues this movie bit by bit, keeping Eden's fear completely stamped down, in a role that's had most of the meat stripped away in favor of scoring bland points regarding her (and therefore our) "complicity".

the things that happen to the main character…

Review by Wildflowerwalking ★★★★

If you have to see violent, graphic imagery in order to feel for these women and be horrified, you’re the problem, not the movie.  This is based on a real story and the victim of that story was the co writer.  The choices to show this story without the violent images of rape and gore could be a metaphor for how the issue often goes unseen, it could also to prevent from triggering its audience.  I felt deeply saddened and disgusted, horrified and ill throughout the entire movie.  It was beautifully shot and the acting was incredible.  one of my main complaints is an issue with pacing, the storytelling here is lacking in some aspects for sure.  Overall I respect this film and Chong Kim tremendously.  I recommend everyone watch this.

Review by mattmav45 ★★½ 1

This is a film in which the subject material is played far too shallow for my tastes.

A film about illegal sex trafficking would seem to provoke emotions in the hardest of souls but this is too conventional. It is simply way to mechanical and calculated in its approach. There is not one single aspect that really sticks out as it feels ultimately pretty bland.

This is not material that should necessarily be exploited, but I feel like they had to dig deeper here. The film never did a good job of portraying the ruthlessness and darkness of the sex trade. While this is subject matter in which the imagination can take hold, the film didn't really even get it…

Review by LaresPares ★★★½

Sehr gefühlvolles und überraschend stark gespieltes Quasi Biopic einer von einem Mädchenhändlerring entführten 19-jährigen. Eden bekommt zum Ende hin ein paar Pacing-Probleme, wenn es um den Ausbruch aus der Gefangenschaft geht und alles plötzlich sehr schnell geht, ist aber sonst eine positive Überraschung.

Verzichtet zudem zu 100% auf explizite Bilder von Vergewaltigungen und allen anderen bekannten und auch hier offensichtlichen Abartigkeiten - die Reviews gehen auseinander, ob dies respektvoll oder einfach inkonsequent oder sogar feige ist. Für mich ist ganz klar: Kein normal denkender Mensch braucht irgend eine Explizität, um zu verstehen was diese Mädchen durchmachen und mit ihnen mitzufühlen.

Review by Dottie ★★ 1

Gary Giggles went down the wrong path after leaving Spy Kids

Review by Audrey ★★★

shook to my core by the harsh realities presented in this film, all acted so stunningly by jamie chung.

Review by Sarah ★★★★

One of the better films about sex trafficking. This is largely because Eden  isnt about the supposed heroes who are valiant shooting sex traffickers and saving children. It isn’t even about the sniveling villains. It’s about the victims and through that it brings a harsh reality. It’s not evil brown people who perpetuate this abusive system but other white people. I especially appreciate how it showed the active complicity of police and the racial hierarchies among the trafficked. So much of the system is also based on fetishizing non-western, non-white women and girls. By focusing on these cultural issues, Eden  shows that the same conservatives who go on about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring are the actual supporters of this…

Review by Sam ★★

i played amazon prime roulette and this is what i got stuck with…..absolutely bonkers way to handle a certain subject matter

Review by bri ★★★★★ 1

SLAYYY YESSSS BITE HIS PENIS OFF

Review by BobbyBubbleBath ★★½

It’s bad enough they kidnapped and tortured these poor women, did they really need to give them cats as well? That’s a step too far.

Review by Elizq ★★½

people like these make me sick to my stomach

Review by 𝖍𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖔𝖗 🥀

This film was such a dour experience. I can’t imagine ever seeing it again. I can’t rate this film. I just wish humanity wasn’t so needlessly cruel.

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