Styx

One small point before touching the question in the title, that is the title of the movie. For those who didn't put too much effort into their Greek mythology studies. Styx is the name of the river leading from the land of the living into the land of the dead in the Greek mythology. Even more important is the fact that passangers on that river must have money with them or they won't be allowed into the land of the dead and will remain on the river for a century, in a greek version of Limbo.

Now that the movie's title makes sense, I'll discuss my own title. When a director chooses a lean approach to movie making, it means not using camera tricks not using any CGI, but rather making his own presence and the cinematographer's almost unnoticeable. And that's exactly what Wolfgang Fischer does, that is apart from two early scenes in the movie involving monkies. And in my humble opinion the movie would've been better without these scenes.

One last point: when one chooses a lean approach to directing it usually calls for a lot more from the actors. We get only two in this film, and the two of them are superb. Susanne Wolff and Gedion Odour Weseka, don't act their roles, they are the characters they portrey.

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

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.

Overall Styx isn't a bad movie. It might be a bit slow but that's exactly what I would imagine if I was on a solitary trip sailing the oceans. The calmness, the solitude, the awareness of everything that surrounds you, it seems all normal to me that this story is told in a slow pace. As for the moral of the story it's something typical for our times, we look at refugees as they are a plague and not worth of our time, and this while they are human beings like you and me. It's a depressing story and it should be. We're living in a me me me-world and Styx reflects that totally. Not many actors in this movie but Susanne Wolff did a good job playing her character. Don't expect action scenes or whatever, Styx is more about questioning ourselves.

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.