War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
Featured reviews
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
Did you know
- TriviaThe city of Minamata, Kumamoto, declined to lend its name as a supporter to a local screening held in August 2021 organized by volunteers, prior to the nationwide release of the film in Japan in September 2021. The city told The Asahi Shimbun that it was uncertain whether the film depicted historical events accurately and was conducive to dispelling discrimination and prejudice against patients. Kumamoto Prefecture, on the other hand, supported the screening.
- GoofsJohnny Depp sings Forever Young by Bob Dylan in the film in 1971. The song was written in 1973 and released in 1974.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Thảm Họa Minamata
- Filming locations
- Belgrade, Serbia(Dunav)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $755,878
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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