69
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlGoldfine and Geller pace and structure The Galapagos Affair like the true-crime tale that it is, its mysteries rich and involving, its characters enduring in the imagination long after the film has ended.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyA stranger-than-fiction gem.
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerOne of those stranger-than-fiction documentaries that just gets weirder and weirder as you’re watching it.
- 67The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloUnfortunately, while there’s enough fascinating material here for an hour-long documentary, this one runs two hours, with most of the present-day talking-head footage (interspersed throughout, to momentum-halting effect) feeling irrelevant.
- 63Slant MagazineWes GreeneSlant MagazineWes GreeneThe material and resources are certainly substantial, but the filmmakers clumsily weave separate stories together without detailing anything beyond a tangential relation.
- 63RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyThe best part may very well be an actual 1932 silent movie, filmed on Floreana, and shown in its entirety in "Galapagos Affair".
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichAll of this is fascinating in the moment, yet the doc never yokes all these threads into anything particularly deep or illuminating. The Galapagos Affair is less social commentary, more gossip.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenThe Galapagos Affair would be a much stronger film were it not padded with the dull reminiscences and speculation of the settlers’ descendants.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanHow anyone could make such an uninvolving movie out of such a fascinating subject remains its own inexplicable mystery.
- 40The DissolveAndrew LapinThe DissolveAndrew LapinPanning across still photos and scouring island maps like Ken Burns hunting for treasure, Geller and Goldfine (Ballets Russes) whittle a truly insane murder mystery into a competent artifact for Weird History buffs.