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Un documentaire sur les conséquences de la pêche de la perche du Nil dans le lac Victoria. Ce poisson prédateur, qui a anéanti l'espèce indigène, est vendu en Europe, alors que les familles ... Tout lireUn documentaire sur les conséquences de la pêche de la perche du Nil dans le lac Victoria. Ce poisson prédateur, qui a anéanti l'espèce indigène, est vendu en Europe, alors que les familles tanzaniennes affamées se contentent des restes.Un documentaire sur les conséquences de la pêche de la perche du Nil dans le lac Victoria. Ce poisson prédateur, qui a anéanti l'espèce indigène, est vendu en Europe, alors que les familles tanzaniennes affamées se contentent des restes.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Nommé pour 1 Oscar
- 16 victoires et 5 nominations au total
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It takes place in Tanzania on the edge of Lake Victoria and there are prostitutes getting killed by their johns and fat repulsive Russian and Ukrainian mercenary pilots supposedly flying in with arms and out with tons of fish, and poor boys on the street sniffing glue and the huge lake stuffed with giant ugly fish that are killing everything else, and people all around the lake starving or dying of AIDS or both, while the fish is shipped out to Europe to the great profit of somebody, not the locals, or certainly not the local poor. This stunning and depressing revelation of a very specific example of the perils and evils of globalization won a lot of prizes, especially in France, two years ago, and has just been shown at Film Forum in New York as part of a "non-fiction films" series chosen by Werner Herzog.
It is any surprise this film is controversial? Notably a professor at the University of Paris 1, Francois Garçon, attacked 'Darwin's Nightmare' early on, stating certain important objections. The president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, doesn't like it either. Between them they claim:
--that the bulk of the giant fish (Nile perch) that are fileted and exported to Europe from Lake Victoria is consumed locally, not the reverse.
--that there's no proof of anyone purchasing arms in the area. The film has no affirmation of or image of arms shipments coming in on the cargo planes that take out the fish.
--that the city of Mwanza, where much of the film is shot, is made to appear like a poor shanty town in the film but is in fact the second largest city in Tanzania (after Dar el Salaam).
--that a lot of the people interviewed, including the pilots, the prostitutes, and the blue-sniffing street boys, are intoxicated.
The filmmaker, Garçon and Kirwete point out, tends to look only at the bad things, the poor, the starving, the sick, and the morally dubious, or those he implies are so (the Russian and Ukrainian pilots).
Hubert Sauper's documentary hit theaters in March 2005 to rave reviews in France and got the César for Best First Film in 2006 and Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. It was a nominee for Best Documentary at the Oscars in 2006; received the FIPRESCI Prize in Sidney and top festival awards in Mexico City, Vienna, Venice – and that is not the end of its festival exposure.
'Darwin's Nightmare' is a kind of "shock cinema," using a whole range of disturbing images – rotting carcasses of giant fish (you may not want to see a fish head again for a while), legless boys, a woman with a missing eye, a starving woman with AIDS. The filmmaker does not add overt commentary but his positions are clear enough: Africa is getting exploited. Food is taken out, arms come in, all to the benefit of western Europe, the "Darwinian nightmare" of the non-native fish destroying the life of a great lake is not being addressed but is heedless economic exploitation of a market production advantage.
Kirwete is interested in large scale economic development. Is he looking at the larger picture? Garçon's CV reveals past connections in the food industry that link him with Mcdonald's, a major user of Nile perch.
Certain facts seem not to have been refuted by opponents of the film. The Nile perch, introduced in the 1960's, has wiped out almost all other fauna in Lake Victoria. Whether the large cargo planes come in empty or with cargo, there is no information that they are bringing benefits to the locals. The Russian and Ukrainian mercenary pilots have flown arm shipments in the past, by their own admission.
If Sauper's interviewees are drunken and/or impoverished (and some of them are perfectly clear-headed), a likely reason for the lack of government officials or local government-approved "experts" giving opinions on the situation may very well be that Sauper's project was not looked upon with favor by Tanzanian authorities and he was forced to operate in secret. The disease, the starvation, the life on one euro a day, that the film documents lakeside may not represent the majority life of Mwanza City,l but it exists there.
On the other hand, though the Indian-origin fish factory manager filmed says that hard times are coming, Sauper does not deny that the Nile perch filet business has been lively and profitable for Tanzania. Government objections to negative views of the fish situation are shown.
However, Sauper, who is of Austrian origin, has not claimed to be objective. He responded after Garçon's attack by saying that he is "not a journalist but a filmmaker." He said in Le Monde, "I did not go out to show Africa as it is, but as I see it. All the films of the world are like that. Not a film in the world can say that it is objective; that's the nature of the medium." The charge that Sauper's approach is "miserablist" is justifiable. But his sense that Africa is exploited by the rich nations of the world is shared by Abderrahmane Sissako, whose recent 'Bamako' is an indictment of the IMF and World Bank that simply considers on a much larger scale what Sauper gives a particular example of. (Sauper has also said that Africa is not alone in being exploited thus, that he could have made his film in many other places.) Certainly Sauper's methods and the implications of 'Darwin's Nightmare' should not be taken without question. Garcon's challenge has spearheaded a controversy and debate that can only be valuable for the film and for its subject matter.
Note: Garçon's book is repeatedly cited in English online as "The Other Side of Darwin's Nightmare," but its French title is "Enquête sur Le Cauchemar de Darwin" ("An Investigation of 'Darwin's Nightmare'") and there is no indication of an English version pending.
It is any surprise this film is controversial? Notably a professor at the University of Paris 1, Francois Garçon, attacked 'Darwin's Nightmare' early on, stating certain important objections. The president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, doesn't like it either. Between them they claim:
--that the bulk of the giant fish (Nile perch) that are fileted and exported to Europe from Lake Victoria is consumed locally, not the reverse.
--that there's no proof of anyone purchasing arms in the area. The film has no affirmation of or image of arms shipments coming in on the cargo planes that take out the fish.
--that the city of Mwanza, where much of the film is shot, is made to appear like a poor shanty town in the film but is in fact the second largest city in Tanzania (after Dar el Salaam).
--that a lot of the people interviewed, including the pilots, the prostitutes, and the blue-sniffing street boys, are intoxicated.
The filmmaker, Garçon and Kirwete point out, tends to look only at the bad things, the poor, the starving, the sick, and the morally dubious, or those he implies are so (the Russian and Ukrainian pilots).
Hubert Sauper's documentary hit theaters in March 2005 to rave reviews in France and got the César for Best First Film in 2006 and Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. It was a nominee for Best Documentary at the Oscars in 2006; received the FIPRESCI Prize in Sidney and top festival awards in Mexico City, Vienna, Venice – and that is not the end of its festival exposure.
'Darwin's Nightmare' is a kind of "shock cinema," using a whole range of disturbing images – rotting carcasses of giant fish (you may not want to see a fish head again for a while), legless boys, a woman with a missing eye, a starving woman with AIDS. The filmmaker does not add overt commentary but his positions are clear enough: Africa is getting exploited. Food is taken out, arms come in, all to the benefit of western Europe, the "Darwinian nightmare" of the non-native fish destroying the life of a great lake is not being addressed but is heedless economic exploitation of a market production advantage.
Kirwete is interested in large scale economic development. Is he looking at the larger picture? Garçon's CV reveals past connections in the food industry that link him with Mcdonald's, a major user of Nile perch.
Certain facts seem not to have been refuted by opponents of the film. The Nile perch, introduced in the 1960's, has wiped out almost all other fauna in Lake Victoria. Whether the large cargo planes come in empty or with cargo, there is no information that they are bringing benefits to the locals. The Russian and Ukrainian mercenary pilots have flown arm shipments in the past, by their own admission.
If Sauper's interviewees are drunken and/or impoverished (and some of them are perfectly clear-headed), a likely reason for the lack of government officials or local government-approved "experts" giving opinions on the situation may very well be that Sauper's project was not looked upon with favor by Tanzanian authorities and he was forced to operate in secret. The disease, the starvation, the life on one euro a day, that the film documents lakeside may not represent the majority life of Mwanza City,l but it exists there.
On the other hand, though the Indian-origin fish factory manager filmed says that hard times are coming, Sauper does not deny that the Nile perch filet business has been lively and profitable for Tanzania. Government objections to negative views of the fish situation are shown.
However, Sauper, who is of Austrian origin, has not claimed to be objective. He responded after Garçon's attack by saying that he is "not a journalist but a filmmaker." He said in Le Monde, "I did not go out to show Africa as it is, but as I see it. All the films of the world are like that. Not a film in the world can say that it is objective; that's the nature of the medium." The charge that Sauper's approach is "miserablist" is justifiable. But his sense that Africa is exploited by the rich nations of the world is shared by Abderrahmane Sissako, whose recent 'Bamako' is an indictment of the IMF and World Bank that simply considers on a much larger scale what Sauper gives a particular example of. (Sauper has also said that Africa is not alone in being exploited thus, that he could have made his film in many other places.) Certainly Sauper's methods and the implications of 'Darwin's Nightmare' should not be taken without question. Garcon's challenge has spearheaded a controversy and debate that can only be valuable for the film and for its subject matter.
Note: Garçon's book is repeatedly cited in English online as "The Other Side of Darwin's Nightmare," but its French title is "Enquête sur Le Cauchemar de Darwin" ("An Investigation of 'Darwin's Nightmare'") and there is no indication of an English version pending.
Darwin's Nightmare is a shocking look at how globalization has caused a country to condemn the majority of its starving population to slavery, prostitution and drug addiction while every day over-fed Europeans dine off of its vast stocks of Nile Perch.
The setting is Lake Victoria, Tanzania, the world's biggest tropical lake, and the Nile Perch (artificially introduced by man) has voraciously destroyed every other species of fish unfortunate to cross its path. Most of those lucky enough to have jobs, fish on the lake and sell their catch to be exported far away to Western Europe. None of the locals can afford to eat the meat of the Perch themselves. They're reduced to scraping together some kind of nightmarish sustenance from the left over rotten fish heads (crawling with maggots) that wouldn't even make it into pet food tins for the west.
Of course, prostitution, drug addiction and HIV are all rife. Everyone knows someone who has died from the 'virus'. Large groups of orphaned homeless children sleep rough on the streets at night. And just to ensure that this convenient state of affairs remains in place (and, of course, to make a nice tidy profit), the vast 'empty' cargo planes arriving from Europe actually seem to be (illegally) laden with weaponry to be sold onto the genocidal wars in Africa. The planes are then packed full of huge amounts of Tanzania's abundant supplies of fish (at times to the point that they're too heavy to take off), and flown back out of the country while the majority of its population face the bleak prospect of famine.
This film is a real eye opener and is genuinely shocking. It should be compulsory viewing for anyone enjoying the privileges of the Western lifestyle.
The setting is Lake Victoria, Tanzania, the world's biggest tropical lake, and the Nile Perch (artificially introduced by man) has voraciously destroyed every other species of fish unfortunate to cross its path. Most of those lucky enough to have jobs, fish on the lake and sell their catch to be exported far away to Western Europe. None of the locals can afford to eat the meat of the Perch themselves. They're reduced to scraping together some kind of nightmarish sustenance from the left over rotten fish heads (crawling with maggots) that wouldn't even make it into pet food tins for the west.
Of course, prostitution, drug addiction and HIV are all rife. Everyone knows someone who has died from the 'virus'. Large groups of orphaned homeless children sleep rough on the streets at night. And just to ensure that this convenient state of affairs remains in place (and, of course, to make a nice tidy profit), the vast 'empty' cargo planes arriving from Europe actually seem to be (illegally) laden with weaponry to be sold onto the genocidal wars in Africa. The planes are then packed full of huge amounts of Tanzania's abundant supplies of fish (at times to the point that they're too heavy to take off), and flown back out of the country while the majority of its population face the bleak prospect of famine.
This film is a real eye opener and is genuinely shocking. It should be compulsory viewing for anyone enjoying the privileges of the Western lifestyle.
This is a film that must be seen by anybody who is concerned about world issues. It is a real eye-opener that presents the situation in Tanzania exactly as it is. It doesn't make it easy for the viewer - the conclusion you come to is a painful one, after witnessing experiences that end up making you feel as though you are there with the characters.
The full details of each issue are not explored, but this is not a problem as you come away with a thorough overview of the whole scenario, the visions of people from all perspectives having been represented.
I especially liked the raw reality of the film; nowadays we are constantly presented with images of third world suffering that distance 'us' from 'them' - this film does not allow that sort of comfort thinking, but more highlights this issue as part of a colossal world injustice.
The full details of each issue are not explored, but this is not a problem as you come away with a thorough overview of the whole scenario, the visions of people from all perspectives having been represented.
I especially liked the raw reality of the film; nowadays we are constantly presented with images of third world suffering that distance 'us' from 'them' - this film does not allow that sort of comfort thinking, but more highlights this issue as part of a colossal world injustice.
Slavery, colonization, genocide and civil war have marked the history of Africa. In Hubert Sauper's powerful documentary Darwin's Nightmare, we witness the latest humiliation -- globalization, euphemistically called the New World Order. Darwin's Nightmare is about fish, specifically the Nile Perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria, but the theme is the exploitation of the natural resources of one country for the benefit of others. In this case, 500 tons of white fillets are caught each day, then exported to Europe to feed two million people each day while the villagers who cannot afford the perch are forced to live on the heads and carcasses that the factories have discarded. While the film is about fish, Sauper explains that he "could make the same kind of movie in Sierra Leone, only the fish would be diamonds, in Honduras, bananas, and in Libya, Nigeria or Angola, crude oil".
Because of over fishing, the Nile Perch was artificially introduced into Lake Victoria in the late 1950s but it was an experiment gone wrong. The Nile Perch became the lake's predator, destroying the existing species of fish, even devouring its young, and devastating the natural ecology of the lake. With the collapse of a stable economy, local fisherman and farmers became dependent on the export business and the result was famine, poverty, HIV, prostitution, and drug addiction. The director says, "It is so incredible that wherever prime raw material is discovered, systematically the locals die in misery, their sons become soldiers and their daughters are turned into servants and whores".
The film does not rely on narration to tell its story. It is told by the Russian pilots who bring in munitions to feed wars in Angola and the Congo, then return to Europe with tons of fillets destined for European markets. The story is told by a prostitute who sings lovingly of Tanzania and dreams of an education, by a guard at a processing plant who earns $1 a day and hopes for his son to become a pilot. Armed only with a bow and poison-tipped arrows, he welcomes the thought of a war. We also hear from a Christian minister who buries local residents who died of AIDS but still refuses to recommend condoms because it is a "sin". All seem powerless in a system that worships the wrong values. One Russian pilot, hoping that one day all the world's children will be happy says: "Children in Angola receive weapons on Christmas Day, European children receive grapes. That's business but I wish all children could receive grapes".
While some claim that the fish-packing operation raises the standard of living, the evidence is otherwise. Some may benefit but the workers earn starvation wages and the country is reported to be in the midst of a famine. Darwin's Nightmare takes a strong stand but does not preach even though its images are often painfully direct. One of the most memorable scenes is of an African woman standing in the sun among the rotting fish carcasses and maggots claiming that her life is better than others, even though one eye has been clearly destroyed by ammoniac gases. This isn't Darwin's nightmare, it's our own.
Because of over fishing, the Nile Perch was artificially introduced into Lake Victoria in the late 1950s but it was an experiment gone wrong. The Nile Perch became the lake's predator, destroying the existing species of fish, even devouring its young, and devastating the natural ecology of the lake. With the collapse of a stable economy, local fisherman and farmers became dependent on the export business and the result was famine, poverty, HIV, prostitution, and drug addiction. The director says, "It is so incredible that wherever prime raw material is discovered, systematically the locals die in misery, their sons become soldiers and their daughters are turned into servants and whores".
The film does not rely on narration to tell its story. It is told by the Russian pilots who bring in munitions to feed wars in Angola and the Congo, then return to Europe with tons of fillets destined for European markets. The story is told by a prostitute who sings lovingly of Tanzania and dreams of an education, by a guard at a processing plant who earns $1 a day and hopes for his son to become a pilot. Armed only with a bow and poison-tipped arrows, he welcomes the thought of a war. We also hear from a Christian minister who buries local residents who died of AIDS but still refuses to recommend condoms because it is a "sin". All seem powerless in a system that worships the wrong values. One Russian pilot, hoping that one day all the world's children will be happy says: "Children in Angola receive weapons on Christmas Day, European children receive grapes. That's business but I wish all children could receive grapes".
While some claim that the fish-packing operation raises the standard of living, the evidence is otherwise. Some may benefit but the workers earn starvation wages and the country is reported to be in the midst of a famine. Darwin's Nightmare takes a strong stand but does not preach even though its images are often painfully direct. One of the most memorable scenes is of an African woman standing in the sun among the rotting fish carcasses and maggots claiming that her life is better than others, even though one eye has been clearly destroyed by ammoniac gases. This isn't Darwin's nightmare, it's our own.
A documentary about poverty, globalization, the Nile Perch fish, Africa...and far more. I resoundingly agree with everything this documentary is ABOUT, but I wasn't altogether enthused about THIS documentary.
Beginning with the case of the Nile Perch fish (which was introduced into Tanzania's Lake Victoria and subsequently eradicated all other species in the Lake), the film branches out into every direction imaginable.
The film is essentially presented as an introduction to the ideas of capitalism and globalization, but doesn't introduce the viewer to anything beyond the surface, nor does it draw overt links between any of its ideas. Darwin's Nightmare attempts to use the existence of the Nile Perch as a case study exemplifying the ails of globalization, but doesn't do so very effectively.
Granted, the film is emotionally raw and moving, and our theatre, too, sat in still silence as the credits rolled, however, a similar reaction could be gained if the World Vision television spot was played in the theatre. Powerful? Yes. A great documentary? No.
Beginning with the case of the Nile Perch fish (which was introduced into Tanzania's Lake Victoria and subsequently eradicated all other species in the Lake), the film branches out into every direction imaginable.
The film is essentially presented as an introduction to the ideas of capitalism and globalization, but doesn't introduce the viewer to anything beyond the surface, nor does it draw overt links between any of its ideas. Darwin's Nightmare attempts to use the existence of the Nile Perch as a case study exemplifying the ails of globalization, but doesn't do so very effectively.
Granted, the film is emotionally raw and moving, and our theatre, too, sat in still silence as the credits rolled, however, a similar reaction could be gained if the World Vision television spot was played in the theatre. Powerful? Yes. A great documentary? No.
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- Date de sortie
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- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- Darwin's Nightmare
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- Montant brut aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 203 746 $US
- Week-end de sortie aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 8 072 $US
- 7 août 2005
- Montant brut mondial
- 2 981 713 $US
- Durée1 heure 47 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was Le cauchemar de Darwin (2004) officially released in Canada in English?
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