True story about how mercury poisoning in Japanese coastal towns led to sickness, poverty, and death.
“People need to see what’s behind the eyes, that’s where the truth is”, such words have never been truer when photographing real people with real problems. Minamata follows W. Eugene Smith, considered by many to be “the most important American photographer in the development of photographic essays”, now that’s quite the title to live up to. Depp captures the very essence of the man; his personal struggles and his dilemmas around morality – it really is great to see Depp back performing to his own high standards again. Depp always seems to be drawn to portraying troubled characters throughout his career, they seem to imprint themselves onto him (and vice versa) and it’s these portrayals which are his most memorable, usually delivering the best performances in his colourful acting career.
Director Andrew Levitas (who is quite the photographer from all accounts as well) created something that really works at telling a story and not covering anything up. It also helps that he is aided by such a talented crew, French cinematographer Benoît Delhomme (The Proposition and The Theory of Everything) shot the film beautifully. The scenes in which Smith moves around taking photos of the local people at work and shooting the scenery is almost poetic, a master craftsman at work, subtly capturing the little things that are filled with a whole host of emotions. The score by Ryuichi Sakamoto also adds to these scenes in such a prominent way, it has a very mystical feel to it, and you feel everything you are watching, a wonderful experience.
Minamata follows war photographer W. Eugene Smith as he attempts to get his career back on track following a serious bout of alcoholism, drug addiction and many years of self-loathing. Smith (who works for Life magazine, remember them?) is approached by a passionate Japanese lady called Aileen (Minami) who tells Smith about the atrocities happening in the coastal town of Minamata regarding the poisoning of the water supply with mercury, which has led to thousands of deaths and disabilities. Smelling an interesting story, Smith informs his boss Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) about the news, and they agree to send him to Japan to hopefully uncover the truth and bring down the big corporation that is responsible.
As Smith begins to get closer to the secrets of corruption which could potentially put his life at risk, he also starts to become closer to Aileen, meaning this project is now more than just a job – there is a subtle love story underneath it all you know. Smith must obtain photos for Life magazine for an upcoming conference, which is just the publicity that the townspeople need to gain justice. Smith is also severely plagued by visions of World War 2 – where he captured some of his most famous photos – this also pushes his psyche to the brink once again. You can tell Smith is an expert as well by the way, comfortably smoking around all these flammable negatives, you’re a brave man Eugene.
There are some incredibly powerful images in this film – truly heart-breaking – they are shot as if they were a photograph, which is a lovely little stylistic trait throughout the film. The images really hit home hard, and add a certain eeriness to the film, especially the photograph Tomoko in Her Bath which is considered to be one of the most important images in the history of photojournalism.
Minamata is a truly beautiful film that will tug on all your heartstrings with its powerful true story and emotional accompaniment. Although, obviously dramatized slightly, its documentation is so matter of fact that it felt incredibly authentic, and with that, it is a shame it never got that wide release it deserved, such a subject matter deserves to be seen by the masses. This really is Johnny Depp’s finest performance for a very long time, a unique talent such as him deserves endless roles like this, it’s what he thrives at – give us what we want Johnny. The direction was another strength, Levitas had a clear vision of what needed to be said, the cause, and the effect. He gets the best out of Depp, as well as all the supporting characters. If Minamata went under your radar, then make sure you check out this beautiful piece of cinema with its heart wrenching story.
Minamata is available to rent on Amazon Prime now.
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