King of the Cruise

“I’ve had people on this ship come up to me and say: ‘You’re the most interesting person I have ever met’”. Ronald Busch Reisinger, or Ronnie for short, is a flamboyant baron from Scotland who likes nothing better than to talk about himself – even if not asked to. The usually Kilt-clad Ronnie stages himself with his possessions and extravagant life stories, using the unreal parallel world of a luxury cruise as his ideal stage. Everything here is impressive and glamorous, but above all, it is far away from home. Sophie Dros, who has penetrated this bizarre microcosm in the middle of the ocean, has created an amazingly profound and visually appealing portrait of its unofficial king. Oscillating between sublime aesthetics and kitschy decadence, the camera captures those polished facades behind which a gaping emptiness lies and, at least for the baron, are the anchor that is his self-worth. A tour of extravagance and reflection, and a journey on a floating paradise that will eventually have to dock again.