Styx

In 3 words: I liked it!

Pros: 1) it's wonderfully played. Susanne Wolff is touching and moving, like Gedion Oduor Wekesa. 2) Wolfgang Fischer uses a humble way for addressing the notions of altruism and benevolence. He is neither pedantic nor didactic nor preachy. 3) it is filmed without any special effect and with a breathtaking mastery of the frame; nowadays, it is unusual and then pleasant. 4) The French movie title, i.e. Styx, sounds smart and implies, at least for me, a Google search to explain and connect it with the whole movie.

Cons (a tiny one): although the introduction is quick, it's useless and confusing. We may imagine that Rike's husband died in that car accident and Rike needs then a phase of introspection in order to mourn. Pure deduction... And what about these monkeys? A metaphor?

Susanne Wolff gives a fine performance here as Rake, an emergency room doctor who sets off alone onto the sea, on her sailing yacht, to head towards the isolated Ascension Island, in the South Atlantic. Ascension contains a natural jungle planned and fostered by Charles Darwin. I thought the cinematography here was truly superb from the startling opening scenes and throughout the film.

When Rake comes across a trawler in emergency distress and containing numerous African migrants, she will be faced with the dilemma of her humanitarian desire to help vs. the policies and procedures of governments and their politics. It's a worldwide crisis with no easy answers, and viewers will most likely come down on both sides of the equation.

Overall, I thought the movie maintained a good air of suspense throughout but I was definitely not thrilled with the most ambiguous ending. To note, English subtitles were only available when German was spoken, which was rarely, but I was able to obtain them from my closed caption option on my remote.

A luxury car crashes in Cologne. Rike, a middle-aged doctor, takes care of the injured with a calmness, sophistication and detachment that belies the chaotic scene. She displays the same characteristics in beginning a solitary boat trip from Gibraltar to distant Ascension Island. Alone on the ocean swells with the sound of the wind and waves, Rike dreams of reaching the wild untouched nature that Darwin spoke of in "the Creation of Paradise." Passing through a fierce storm for which she is well prepared, this clever and independent woman encounters something else that she is not ready for. This real-world problem will shake Rike to her core. She straddles the border to the underworld on the River Styx.

Rike deals with issues that are currently great troubles in the world; immigration and the divide between rich and poor, but also something inside herself and her oath as a doctor. There is little dialogue to Styx. Instead there is sumptuous photography including panoramic shots above the ocean, and the ambient sounds of wind and waves. The film is well made and acted. The lack of dialogue is the strength of the film, but also its weakness.

I liked the first half of the film better than the last half. I think this is because I was looking forward to learning about the wild nature of Ascension Island and the "paradise" that Darwin found. But Rike never gets there. Indeed, the world will never get to this paradise if we don't learn to help each other, heal the environment that sustains us, and that we are all as Black Elk maintained "hoops within other hoops."

Styx: A tale of the cruel sea and even crueler life. Rike (Susanna Wolff) takes a break from her traumatic work life as an emergency doctor in Berlin. Getting away from it all she is sailing her yacht from Gibraltar to Ascension Island, to visit the artificial jungle designed by Charles Darwin. A storm interrupts her journey and when it has passed she spots a trawler adrift, overloaded with distressed people. Contacting the Coastguard she is told that help will be dispatched and to keep away from the trawler as her yacht is too small to assist those onboard. The refugees start to jump overboard and one boy makes it to her boat.nA traumatic tale then unfolds. Her very presence is causing chaos as people jump into the water and drown. She can barely care for the boy, Kingsley (Gedion Oduor Wekesa).

One person faced with unenviable choices, hard to ignore nearby suffering but aware that your yacht will be swamped if you approach the trawler. Waiting for help to arrive but frustrated by delays. Wondering how seriously the plight of the refugees is being taken. We see the sea in all of its fury during the storm as Rike has to stay at the helm but also when i is calm but bot becalmed. She then reads her books about Ascension, swims and sunbathes. This is literally the calm before the storm of encountering the trawler. A film which left me silent and a bit stunned as the end credits went up. Director/co-writer Wolfgang Fischer relates a heart scalding story about one person encountering the reality of the fate which faces so many who flee conflicts or who are just seeking a better life. 8/10

The principal actress of this movie has obviously done a course in "how to act in arthouse movies": show a face of stone for two hours straight. There is nothing to laugh about in this horrible world full of sexists and bad people. There is not much happening in this movie. Long tedious shots of her loading the boat (man, why show this for 10 minutes? she loads groceries, okay we get it !) and getting ready for sailing. Then the sailing. The the storm. Then the refugee boat. Of course, a refugee boat. What else. If you wanna gain entry to some prestiguous filme festivals and win prizes nowadays, you need a refugee boat. And a strong woman of course, who never smiles. The follows the moral drama, should I take refugues on board or not? Rescue some lives or not? We all now the answer.

This is also as boring as it is calculated. Directors who jump on the themes of the present day and pack it into a moral tale.

Appropriated indignation, I would call it. Works every time. The way to go for medium talented directors. Even if you make a mediocre film , the subject (in this case: refugee crisis!) is gonna carry you to the high art house festivals and secure some prizes. Milk it, baby !

I always say: why not make a documentary of the real thing? Of what is actually happening in the middle sea? Better than this exploitation crap. This film won't change one persons mind or opinion about refugees. A documentary could.

Nobody, absolutely nobody wanted to see this movie in german theaters. I think it sold something like 6.000 tickets. Still, it it was nominated for a striking 6 Lolas, the german Academy Awards, half a year after it's release. That says it all.

I give 4 stars for good camerawork and great sound.