Minamata

Minamata (2020), directed by Andrew Levitas, is a drama based on real events — watch it online on iFILM. Johnny Depp plays W. Eugene Smith, a war photographer who in the early 1970s travelled to a small Japanese fishing town to cover what a chemical company had done to it for decades. Hiroaki Sanada and Bill Nighy co-star.

The Chisso corporation had been dumping mercury into Minamata Bay since the 1950s. By the time Smith arrived, the disease named after the town had left hundreds of residents with severe neurological damage — and the company was still denying responsibility. Smith wasn't looking for a comeback story. He was burned out and drinking. He stayed three years anyway, and his photos for Life magazine — including the image now known as "Tomoko in the Bath" — forced the story into the global consciousness and put pressure on Chisso to settle with victims.

The film is uncomfortable by design. It doesn't frame Smith as a saviour; it shows the long, grinding labour of getting anyone to look at what's in front of them. Stream Minamata (2020) online on iFILM.