Southern Cross

The film producer from Hamburg has journeyed to a corner of the globe where the world should still be in order, the Galapagos Islands, a group of volcanic islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where giant tortoises, reptiles and many rare bird species, which are elsewhere extinct, still survive. Köster is not interested in communicating tex book knowledge. Nor is he solely there due to his interest in endangered wildlife. His brother Fritz, a marine biologist and head of a research institute, lives there. Stephan Köster, the younger brother, portrays the idealistic scientist with affection. The brothers roam about the islands ardently and defiantly seeking adventure. The film in which Köster explores these experiences is a viual feast, incorporating wit, irony, melancholy and hearty humor. Köster has seen the whale smile and has lovingly filmed under water how a female sea lion smoothly caresses her big brother. His film shots are original, bizarre or simply full of beauty. On return to the main island the brothers discover charred foundations where the institute had once been. The rumour 'arson' spreads...