Minamata

Slowburning, warmhearted, shocking portrait of the destruction of children's health by chemical pollution in Japan.

The story: Johnny Depp plays his usual clusmy, comical self, this time around he plays an American alcoholic master photographer. Out of the blue comes a Japanese woman at his door who asks him for his help to expose the pollution crimes through his photography.

Impressive movie, which starts out rather lighthearted and sometimes even kinda comical, only near the very end the drama hits full on, when we as an audience get to see the many disfigured, handicapped children, ruined for life by the chemical pollution of the river from which they ate the fish...

Produced by Johnny Depp himself. Based on true events...

Please have the patience to watch the final credits, because at the end many similar chemical pollution catastrophes are being shown from around the world, including Europe and the USA.

Mr. Depp once again showed what a powerful actor he is. I am not going to write about charm and charisma, I will only note that all actors fall into two categories. The play of the first ceases to be perceived as a game and begins to be seen as life. The character comes to life. The play of the latter can be good or bad, but it is always clear that it is just a play. Depp belongs to the first category.

Initially I was quite shocked by Johnny Depp's weathered appearance. After overcoming the initial shock, I was completely captivated by the very touching story. The ending for me in tears.

A solid and important film, especially these days with very recent topics. Its a story that deserved to be told at the cinema as it is groundbreaking, shocking and absolutely relevant. It also brings back Johnny Depp to his actually acting standards. Depp is wonderful, and not only because he successfully de-glammed for the role, but also because he found his acting weapons back. He truly gives a great performance in a film that sometimes suffers from its lengths. Because although the story is absolutely important to tell, director Andrew Levitas didn't really do where to go with it. He knew he wanted to tell it, he knew what he wanted to tell, but he didn't know how to put this in a 2 hours movie as there are some major lengths , especially in the midsection of the film And you sometimes had the impression this wold have worked better as a short film. To see Depp back to business it is worth to see and also to encounter newcomer Minami in the female lead is really something. She did great and shared a great chemistry with Johnny Depp. Bill Nighy also has his moments but can do better, his role was a bit underdeveloped. The song is amazing and there are many moments that are worth to mention, however as a whole it felt sometimes a bit too slow and without a definite direction.

Minamata is a must-watch for all cinema lovers to appreciate the cinematography, direction and the choice of background scores used, about the Minamata disease that caused havoc in the early 1970s.

Johnny Depp, perhaps one of the greatest and most versatile actors of all time, turns in a powerful and sombre performance where he is able to emote mostly from his eyes. Once again, he goes right into the skin of the character in this case, the late Eugene Smith and is definitely worthy a performance to ATLEAST an Academy Award nomination. Bill Nighy is good in an extended cameo. Minami is very good in her role as well.

To summarise, this movie is a must watch for Johnny Depp's excellent performance, his best since Black Mass, and the topic of mercury poising and the environmental damage by conglomerates, which I personally believe needs to receive more attention. This movie personofies art & cinema's true purpose.