Islands (2025) by Jan-Ole Gerster: Sunshine Noir Where Desire and Doubt Collide
- dailyentertainment95
- Aug 12
- 4 min read
Short Summary – Paradise as Prison, Mystery as Mirror
In Islands, Tom, a former tennis prodigy turned washed-up resort coach, spends his days drifting between cocktails, casual flings, and the monotonous luxury of a tourist island. When the seemingly perfect British Maguire family arrives—Anne, her husband Dave, and their teenage son Anton—his world tilts. After Dave mysteriously vanishes, Tom is pulled into an increasingly tense and morally murky relationship with Anne, where suspicion and attraction blur into one dangerous game.
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27796126/
About movie: https://greenwichentertainment.com/film/islands/
In cinemas 12 September on BFI Player 27 October
Detailed Summary – Vacation That Becomes a Cage
A Man Out of Time: Tom (Sam Riley) once had a career in professional tennis, but a mix of injuries, bad choices, and emotional retreat has left him coaching wealthy resort guests under the harsh sun of Fuerteventura. The island offers him anonymity, but also a gnawing sense of inertia.
The Disruption: Enter the Maguires—Anne (Stacy Martin), elegant and reserved; Dave (Jack Farthing), charming yet slightly smug; and Anton, a polite but distant teenager. Their polished composure is a sharp contrast to Tom’s scruffy aimlessness.
The Incident: A casual night of mingling turns odd. Dave disappears without explanation, and whispers start to ripple through the resort. Tom’s decision to help Anne search for her husband begins as goodwill but soon reveals deeper motives—whether attraction, curiosity, or self-preservation.
Ambiguity at the Core: Gerster’s script, co-written with Blaž Kutin and Lawrie Doran, keeps events just out of reach. Scenes are built around silences, half-truths, and physical distance between characters. Even Tom’s intentions remain unclear—does he want to solve the mystery, protect Anne, or keep her close for his own sake?
Island as Character: The film’s location—Corralejo’s bright beaches, Cofete’s windswept emptiness, La Pared’s alien landscapes—serves as both postcard and prison. Open horizons amplify Tom’s isolation; natural beauty contrasts with a story full of emotional shadows.
The Slow Burn: Rather than racing toward a big reveal, Islands builds tension through tiny gestures, suspicious glances, and subtle shifts in tone. Even the mystery of Dave’s fate takes a back seat to the shifting dynamics between Tom and Anne.
Director’s Vision – Noir in the Sunlight
A Genre Flip: Jan-Ole Gerster, known for his debut Oh Boy (2012), wanted to craft his first English-language feature as a “vacation noir”—a suspense narrative draped in the deceptive warmth of sun-soaked landscapes.
Deliberate Ambiguity: Inspired by the psychological tension of Patricia Highsmith’s work, Gerster refuses to offer easy moral binaries. The audience is placed in the same position as Tom—uncertain, curious, and complicit.
Visual and Sonic Texture: Cinematographer Juan C. Sarmiento Grisales favors wide, steady shots that allow space to breathe—and feel oppressive. Dascha Dauenhauer’s score alternates between airy lightness and low, lurking notes, echoing the tension under the surface.
Themes – Escaping to Be Found
Illusion of Escape: The island appears to offer refuge from failure and discontent, but its closed environment magnifies personal flaws.
Seduction and Suspicion: The chemistry between Tom and Anne is both intimate and distrustful, highlighting how attraction can mask ulterior motives.
Identity Drift: Tom exists in limbo, neither fully invested in the island’s transient culture nor ready to confront what drove him there.
Truth in the Gaps: The absence of clear answers mirrors the way people avoid uncomfortable truths until circumstances force confrontation.
Key Success Factors – Craft and Performance
Magnetic Leads: Sam Riley delivers a performance of weary charm and suppressed longing, while Stacy Martin’s Anne radiates controlled vulnerability.
World-Building Through Restraint: The film’s success lies not in plot twists but in how its setting and pacing create an immersive mood.
Cinematic Cohesion: Every element—location, music, acting—serves to keep the audience teetering between comfort and unease.
Awards & Nominations – Quiet Recognition
Premiered at the Berlinale Special section of the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2025. Won the Grand Prize at Reims Polar Festival. Nominated for Best Fiction Film, Best Actor (Riley), Best Sound, and Best Music at the German Film Awards 2025, with Dascha Dauenhauer winning for her score.
Critics Reception – Elegant, Elusive, Enveloping
The Guardian: Called it “a film that trusts its audience,” praising its patience and refusal to over-explain.
The Playlist: Described it as “a captivating holiday noir that uses beauty to hide emotional vacancy.”
Loud & Clear Reviews: Admired the atmosphere but felt the middle act risked stalling its momentum.
Rotten Tomatoes: Holds a high approval rating, with most critics highlighting its performances, atmosphere, and cinematography.
Overall: Highly regarded as an artful slow burn, though viewers expecting a traditional thriller may find it deliberately evasive.
Reviews – Audience Echoes
Viewers liken it to the mood of Antonioni’s L’Avventura and Highsmith adaptations. Some praise its hypnotic pacing; others call it frustratingly unresolved. Fans of psychological storytelling generally embrace its refusal to tie every thread neatly.
Release Date on Streaming
After its Berlinale premiere in February 2025, it was released theatrically in Germany on May 8, 2025, followed by festival screenings in Sydney, Edinburgh, France, Greece, and the UK. Streaming release is planned for October 2025 on BFI Player in the UK, with additional territories to follow in early 2026.
Why to Recommend Movie – Warm Facade, Cold Truth
Sunlit landscapes masking noir tension make for a fresh genre experience.
Rich, ambiguous character work rewards close attention and rewatching.
The chemistry between Riley and Martin holds the film’s mystery in emotional suspension.
Perfect for audiences who appreciate slow-burn storytelling and psychological depth.
Movie Trend – Vacation Noir: Paradise as Trap
Fits into the “vacation noir” wave, where idyllic destinations become claustrophobic stages for moral and psychological unravelling. Similar to Swimming Pool and The Talented Mr. Ripley, it uses beauty as a deceptive cover for danger and deception.
Social Trend – Disconnection in a Connected World
Reflects post-pandemic emotional alienation: people traveling to escape themselves, only to find their personal void magnified. The island becomes a metaphor for the curated lives we present to the world—isolated, staged, and hiding deeper truths.
Final Verdict – A Mirage That Doesn’t Fade at Dusk
Islands invites you into the heat and holds you in its cool shadows. It’s as much about what’s unsaid as what’s shown—a film that lingers like a question you can’t stop turning over. Those seeking resolution may feel stranded, but those willing to drift will find themselves somewhere hauntingly familiar.
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