Minamata

“Minamata” is often undermined by its protagonist, whose boorish ways clash with Japanese culture and distract from its central message.

Minamata is weighed down by self-important direction that loses the human beings in this story by prioritizing the headlines.

Taken on its own merits — as an accessible if ahistorical dramatization of an environmental tragedy — “Minamata” does what it sets out to do very well.

Moments of connection and the power of photography to tell a story shine through, though there are also instances where the cinematic storytelling becomes a bit heavy-handed.

At Minamata’s core is a rare return to form for Depp.

Levitas makes choices that distract from the central crisis. But when he pays attention to the victims, “Minamata” finally comes into focus.

The insistent drive to place the redemption of a heroic individual in the foreground diminishes the same Japanese people punished by the tragedy; they are used as satellites for Depp's magnetic and compelling performance. [Full review in Spanish]

[The biopic, environmental film, and photography genres] fuse unsurprisingly well in this homage movie with a social compromise that highlights a peculiar way to see the world from behind a camera lens. [Full review in Spanish]

Depp is quite good here as war photographer W. Eugene Smith. The environmental disaster story is hard to shake, and the stunning cinematography is a fitting tribute to an acclaimed photographer.

There's no attempt to break the mold on conventional dramas of this ilk, whose "prestige" has faded as of late, and in that sense, it's a throwback of sorts... Minamata fulfills its modest goals, something you can't say about too many movies.