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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 Drama movie in which we follow the photographer William Eugene Smith traveling to some coastal villages in Japan to capture with his camera the effect of mercury poisoning on people.

I was simply amazed by this movie because it had an interesting plot that was based on real events and since I did not know about them I was shocked. The direction which was made by Andrew Levitas was very good and he presented very well the whole story behind mercury poisoning and he also did a good job on the way he used some old footage of that time. The interpretation of Johnny Depp who played as William Eugene Smith was simply outstanding. Some other interpretations that have to be mentioned were Minami's who played as Aileen, Hiroyuki Sanada's who played as Mitsuo Yamazaki and Jun Kunimura's who played as Junichi Nojima. In conclusion, I have to say that "Minamata" is an amazing movie and I highly recommend everyone to watch it because you will learn something about a huge environmental problem that affected many people and many families.

"Minamata" is a disease that I was curious about while studying at the Faculty of Medicine.

An amazing person, a unique photographer, W. Eugene Smith.

The movie has a pretty good biography and stays away from fake drama. Because the story itself is already very painful.

Andrew Levitas has done a great job of directing.

Benoit Delhomme has created a magnificent composition with Sony camera and lenses.

Ryuichi Sakamoto exclaimed that he was a master with every note of the music.

And I was very happy to see J. Depp, whom I missed for a long time.

Hiroyuki Sanada, you are an amazing detail.

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.

Let's get one thing straight at the start of this, I like Depp, I wanted to love this, but I couldn't.

Why not? Minimata is a collection of nicely shot scenes and moments rather than a coherent story that builds via the characters toward an emotional climax.

The reason for this is because the screenwriters (5 of them??!!) and director are quite inexperienced and fail to build the movie to a powerful ending the subject matter deserves . And, (I am going to whisper this softly), I am not sure Johnny Depp is right for the role. Depp is a brilliant fantasy character actor for sure, but when he has to play 'real' people he sometimes struggles. I suspect a more experienced director would have not allowed him to get away with so much 'Johnnyisms'.

Shame though, i liked it, just didn't love it.

Johnny Depp puts in an expected interesting performance but mature. It's as if he's found a different gear in his talent. This movie is powerful and strangely necessary as a result of current times. Well made and there is so much unknown talent in this movie on camera and off and one of the reasons I praised Johnny for a mature performance was because he made those around him go up a gear. Sometimes you can sense competition between actors in award contending movies but Johnny allowed others to shine as well as shining himself to a very high standard perhaps his best performance in years.

Minamata is a heartfelt contemplative real-life social drama which although plays beat-by-beat to the little man versus the corporation story formula, is elevated by the charming performances of Johnny Depp and its supporting cast.

Eugene Smith, the photojournalist for Life Magazine, travels to Minamata, Japan to cover the local cases of severe mercury poisoning caused by the Chisso Corporation dumping industrial wastewater into the ocean.

This is Johnny Depp's best performance in a long while. When it comes to Depp's roles, we tend to think of his larger-than-life wacky characters. There is a different electricity when he portrays real-life figures, like in Donnie Brasco, Finding Neverland, or The Libertine, that is often overlooked due to a lack of his signature character quirks. The task just seems simpler as Depp just focuses on being truthful and responsible to the real-life person.

His portrayal of Eugene Smith seems like a distant cousin of Hunter S. Thompson, a cursed truth-speaker who constantly needs to self-medicate through drugs and joyous self-destruction. Despite the frizzy hair and a salt-and-pepper chin curtain beard, this is the least costumed he's been in a while and it is winning.

It's surprisingly funny too as Depp injects gallows humor into his scenes as Eugene Smith is someone who has hit rock bottom and is reveling in how much he doesn't care anymore.

We don't know what the real Eugene Smith acted like, but I'd bet good money that the ingredients for this characterization were a combination of secondary source accounts of Eugene Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, and Johnny Depp himself. What Depp was emoting felt real and raw like he was expressing something he wanted to say at this moment through his part.

Hiroyuki Sanada shines in a supportive part as a lead protester against the Chisso Corporation. Sanada just has one of those charismatic faces that makes the audience root for whatever his character is crusading for onscreen, whether that's hating Tom Cruise, sword fighting with Hawkeye, or shooting a rope-dart at Sub-Zero.

Director Andrew Levitas takes his time for the audience to sensitively familiarize with the various victims of Minamata and their families through the eyes of Eugene Smith. The cinematography uses the gorgeous Japanese backdrop for the audience to contemplate the severity of the situation.

Slowly, you end up caring for the Minamata victims and their families. Minamata disease is quite a nightmare. I was biting my nails every time someone ate raw fish or sipped tea. I was even wondering what the real-life Eugene Smith, who stayed in Minamata for three-and-a-half years off of an original three-month assignment, was eating and drinking. The film's social message played twice as powerful as it eerily mirrored the nuclear disaster in Fukushima now.

The middle of Minamata does sag just before the final act, almost like an instructor forgetting to set the timer in a free trial meditation class. I was suddenly woken up from a daze and the end wrapped up a tad too quickly.

Steven Soderberg's Erin Brockovich, a movie similar in plot and theme, is comparatively better structured in terms of plot, but I enjoyed the meditative daze Minamata brought me in.

There's a growing movie-going trend where the audience will only go to the theater to see big-budgeted blockbusters with special effects and slow-paced arthouse cinema is something that can be streamed later at home. That is not always the case. Cinema has a lot more to offer than that. After a year-long hiatus of not going to the cinema, watching Minamata retaught me that.

If you are looking for entertainment - skip this film.

It will skin your soul alive. So touching, frustrating, making clear where the "small people"'place is. Great characters, great acting, great directing. Thanks for including Johnny Depp, in this cancel culture you never know. But once again he proves that his talent is way above all the gossip.

Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive material known to man. This company was pouring it straight into the bay, poisoning it, and every single living thing in and around it. This created generations of poisoned people. Killing, maiming, disfiguring at random. This does not come out clearly enough in this film.

A Beautiful Movie that no one promotes, I wonder why. It's even sad that people, mainstream media and twitter blue checks don't talk about this movie. Great Performance by Depp and by most of the cast, even by the "real people". Touching story. And of course the photography of this film is outstanding, but that's predictable.

This film was well put together, especially considering it was written and directed by novice filmmakers, but had it been better edited, faster paced, and the 115 min runtime trimmed down to no more than 90 mins, I would've enjoyed it more. There was too much filler for the little substance in the story's entirety. It wasn't as moving or engaging as it should've been. The cinematography however, was excellent, and the score on point. The Japanese casting and performances where much better than Depp's typical drunk slurring character's dialogue. It's a good one-time watch, more so as an educational docu-story, rather than anything exciting such as other similar genre "true- story" films.

Touching story that needs to be told, however the subject matter means this film is never going to reach a large audience. There aren't many dramatic events it's just a true story told simply but quite well. It also isn't totally dry nor overly dialogue heavy. There are some touching moments but really the poignancy comes from knowing that it is based on true events and the reading you do on Wikipedia about it while you're watching the film. It also attempts to be a kind of biopic of w eugene smith but doesn't really commit to that as it fears detracting from the core story, and I think this is appropriate. Difficult to know who to recommend this to, but if you are a person who finds it difficult to turn the other cheek when you hear about the plight of others and you feel obliged once you are made aware of something to know more about what happened then you will find this a well put together film to experience while you're finding out more about minimata.

Mercury poisoning is the biological weapon of United states.

They used it in every country they bombed, one of the biggest victim is innocent Japan Population.

Mercury poisoning diseases are everywhere where United states bombed.

Its one of biggest horrific Crime in Human History from an ''Democratic'' State..

God Bless these Victims from these horrific things all around the world :(

Very simple and well directed movie throwing light on the ignorance of Japanese government. Quite a surprise how Japan handled the crisis which hit the news until today.

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.

They all played great, especially the sick ones. They did all they could. The story couldn't let them perform better. Beautiful colours, landscapes, pictures and photographs of course, and let's not forget the sound score. Well done! Glad to see Johnny again! Still waiting for the academy to award him. Not for a single performance, but for his entire career, he is a rare gem, we should cherish him forever!

"Minamata" is a movie in which we follow the photographer William Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) traveling to coastal villages in Japan to capture with his camera the effect of mercury poisoning on people. It is a story about corporate greed (Yes, another one....) and thus less shocking as corporate greed is always put above human life. What I am trying to say is that there is nothing shocking about corporate greed as new stories emerge every other day. However this one is unique as it was kept a secret for so long and I never even heard about it. Excellent acting from Johnny Depp despite his personal problems. I enjoyed the cinematography as old footage was used and mixed into this movie. I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie. It is simply a very good movie, story and the environment should concern all of us.

This film is very good and I really liked the story.

"Minamata" showcases its desire to be an important movie in almost every frame. It tries to be a character study, a commentary on the power of photojournalism, and a study in how the large profit margins of major corporations can attract those without moral compasses. Sadly, it too often misses the first of those three narratives by underlining and emphasizing the second pair, and character is really the most important thing about films like this. A "message movie" only works because of the characters who convey it. We admire films like "Spotlight" and "Dark Waters" not solely because of the true stories they unveil but because of how those messages are embedded in character dramas. Leading man Johnny Depp is up to the challenge, and he gives a finely tuned performance here that kind of feels like his first "old man" turn, and he's matched by a charming piece of work from Minami, but "Minamata" is weighed down by self-important direction that loses the human beings in this story by prioritizing the headlines. The problems come when Levitas tries to translate that passion into interesting drama. He hired great people in terms of craft, working with the great Benoît Delhomme ("At Eternity's Gate") to give the entire production a charged visual acumen. And the legendary Ryuichi Sakamato provides a lovely score. But these master craftsmen almost enable Levitas' fatal flaw, one that really lands with a final photo montage of disasters like Minamata from around the world, making it clear how much the producers here feel like they've made a definitive film instead of just a heartfelt one. A film like "Minamata" doesn't need to tell every story like it, look perfect, or have a mesmerizing score. It needs to be a little edgy and gritty and human to feel true. Otherwise, it feels like something we look at through a lens, something we observe and admire but can never get our hands on to truly feel.

Ideally, I wouldn't be very critical of a human-interest story, but the tragedy of Minamata is such an important lesson for all us humans, so any art work based on the tragedy needs thorough critical assessment.

With all due respect to Eugene's work and with the utmost respect to the victims of this gory man-made tragedy, the movie falls short of doing true justice to the actual Minamata story. Some powerful imagery and soul-stirring shots/scenes are present, but the narration, acting, and screenwriting felt haphazard. Poor attention to detail. The backstory was under-developed and focus on unimportant bits does injustice to the real story. Also, the deviation from true events to satisfy cinematic liberty feels unreasonable.

Common guys, you have an incredible story to tell here; you should have buckled up as you don't get a chance every day to portray something as important as this.

Given the sensitive nature of the Minamata tragedy, I would like to reiterate that the 3/5 strictly represents only the movie---a missed opportunity; it is no way a rating for the associated ghastly tragedy, real-events, or the truth.

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.

I was giving this movie benefit of the doubt right until the credits line "In 2013, the Japanese Prime Minister declared that Japan had recovered from mercury pollution, denying the existence of the tens of thousands of victims who continue to suffer today".

I googled that statement, it was for a Minamata Convention on Mercury. It literally says "My heart goes out to those who are still fighting these illnesses as well as to their families." It also says "The amount of mercury used in Japan has been reduced to 0.4% of the amount used in the 1960s, even though the size of the economy has grown enormously since that time. Japan experienced a crisis due to mercury and then recovered from it."

Why lie about words on record? To make the story more "relevant"? It sounds perfectly relevant without bs, without lying about things that do not require that. Also, a much better choice would have been to build the movie around the main character. Johnny Depp is doing a thing of his own in an otherwise formulaic movie, exploring a very complex character, and through him - the point and nature of photography, the meaning of work. Depp kind of stuff. Without it, it would have been just an insufferable very manipulative movie despite an incredibly interesting story.

If you wanna know the story, just get Smith's actual book ("Minamata: The Story of the Poisoning of a City, and of the People Who Choose to Carry the Burden of Courage")

It is an important story to tell but it could have been told in a more engaging manner. Johnny's character is grouchy and disinterested most of the time. The two leads have little chemistry and no one could have guessed that the characters are actually married to each other. A wasted opportunity on the whole.

As a B&W photographer myself during the 1970s I knew of Smith, however I was unaware of the scope of his photography. This is a movie about his final big assignment in 1972, returning to Japan 26 years after he was badly injured working as a war correspondent.

Johnny Depp is W. Eugene Smith. He is convinced to do this photo-essay project in Japan. It was a location where, it turns out, a large chemical corporation in Minamata was dumping rather high levels of mercury into waterways, contaminating everything and resulting in what became known as Minamata Disease, a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. The issue is exacerbated because in pregnant women, the fetus ends up absorbing the mercury and it could result in microcephaly, extensive cerebral damage, and symptoms similar to those seen in cerebral palsy.

The movie depicts all this and the hard fight with the owners of the chemical corporation to acknowledge their role in causing the problem and the task of cleaning it up. Smith's photo-essay is credited with playing a major role.

This is a very good movie and Depp is superb as the photographer. My wife and I watched it at home streaming on Amazon Prime.

I would recommend anyone who is interested or have already watched this film to read this article by Kyoto Journal.

The article is titled: Documenting Minamata with W. Eugene Smith: An Interview with Kyoto Activist Aileen Mioko Smith

Aside from the portrayal of Minamata disease, I think the film could have given some more space &thoughts to the character of Aileen. She is an incredible woman whom i truly admire and respect, i hope her role in the Minamata story will not be forgotten and completely overshadowed by that of Gene. Indeed, Johnny Depp is the big star here and Gene is the legendary photographer that deserves attention and recognition. However, it is easy for women to be outshined by their male counterparts in many narratives and discourses. I dont even need to explain why and how is that here.

Anyway, all i try to say is.

Don't ever forget people in Minamata, people who are suffering from social injustice all over the world, Aileen Mioko and Eugene.