Ron Howard’s survival crime drama “Eden” opened nationwide on 22 August, distributed by Vertical. Co-written with Noah Pink, the film dramatises the real-life mystery surrounding a group of European settlers who attempted to build an off-the-grid commune on Floreana Island in the Galápagos during the early 1930s. Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby portray the German doctor Friedrich Ritter and his partner Dore Strauch, whose published accounts of island life attract unwelcome company in the form of another German family played by Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney. Tensions escalate with the arrival of a self-styled baroness, depicted by Ana de Armas, and her entourage, pushing the remote enclave toward violence. Howard conceived the project after visiting the islands with his family and challenged Pink to weave conflicting survivor memoirs into a feature narrative. The ensemble shot largely in rugged Australian locations that demanded extensive snake- and spider-wrangling, according to production interviews. Critical reaction is mixed. The Chicago Tribune said the picture "rests unsteadily between drama and camp," while Mashable called it "numbingly dull" despite praising the cast’s performances. USA Today, in a separate feature on the historical background, noted Howard’s departure from his typically uplifting fare, describing the film as a cautionary tale about the limits of utopian escapism.