6 h 24 avr. 2021 ans - MINAMATA Media Coverage Andrew Levitas Instagram

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Translated from the original Russian using Google Translate.

FROM GQ RUSSIA:

"The Great" is one of Johnny Depp's most successful projects in recent years

What you need to know about the film - read in our review.

by Kirill Goryachok

1971 год. The famous New York photographer William Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) spends his days alone and longing. He doesn't believe in his own strength anymore, drinks a lot and barely makes ends meet. One day he gets a chance to change his life - together with activist Eileen, the photographer goes to the Japanese town of Minamata to make a report on the chemical company "Tisso". For many years, the corporation has been polluting the environment, draining toxins and mercury into water, and no one pays attention to it. Local residents suffer from terrible diseases, children are born disabled, but protests have no effect. Smith is getting closer to the unfortunate peasants, but it's not so easy to help them. The head of the corporation is not going to give in and admit himself guilty of the death of people.

In the history of photojournalism, the work of U. Eugene Smith is considered textbooks. He went through the war with Japan with a camera in his hands, filmed the life of New York marginals, jazz players and beatniks, and by the end of his life he made one of the darkest reports of the twentieth century - about the terrible illness of the inhabitants of the Japanese village of Minamata. The film "The Great", which in the original is called "Minamata", can hardly be called a biography of the famous photographer Smith. Director Andrew Levitas, who also took photography for many years, decided to tell about the tragic event through the eyes of a reporter. It turned out to be a movie on the verge between documentary and fiction, and, most importantly, "The Great" is one of Johnny Depp's most successful projects in recent years.

Tired of life, an alcoholic who was once a great artist, photographer Smith is the perfect role for Depp. The actor perfectly feels the drama of his character, plays him organically and without unnecessary effort. Smith can't live a day without a bottle, does not sleep at night and believes that the era of real photojournalism is over, and with it his career. In Minamat, he also wants to be indifferent in order to maintain an objective view of what is happening. "Photography eats the photographer's soul," Smith admits. However, looking at the suffering of the sick, the hero will have to go on one journey with these little people.

Director Levitas tells a story on the contrast between the beauty of the nature of the Japanese village and the poor, unenfranchised fate of ordinary people. Humbly, peasants and workers take care of their sick, are ashamed of poverty and are afraid to protest against the corporation, which, in fact, feeds them and gives them at least some jobs. Local police often arrange demonstrative pogroms, and a few activists spend their days on their knees with photos of their children in front of the factory gates. The New York photographer is a stranger here, he seems to be invading their lives, and therefore many do not want to accept him, do not allow him to take pictures.

"The Great" succinctly and in an accessible way tells about the struggle for ecology, which never ends. Small victories, relaxations on the part of corporations, in fact, do not change anything, because there are already victims, and the victims will continue. The director very successfully reinforces the artistic scenes of strikes and suffering of the Japanese with documentary and chronic footage of the same events. This enhances the emotional effect, involves the viewer in the action and makes you empathize more with what is happening.

However, in an effort to tell a truly important story, director Levitas misses some important storylines that could make the film stronger and better. Smith's figure is still not well written enough, much more time could be devoted to his experiences and reflections. The key point - the birth of the famous photo of the bathing of the mother and her sick daughter - is shown not expressively enough, the director often lacks a sense of style. "The Great" is more like a photo, an illustration of events, a report. He lacks the artistry, the internal dramaturgy of the characters to become a truly excellent film.

But also with what it is, "The Great" is a fascinating story about events that actually happen constantly in different parts of the planet. The picture suggests thinking about where our civilization is going. Perhaps the most impressive character in the film is the head of the Tissot Corporation. This frigile old man personifies all the banality of modern evil, which has only one motivation - making money. And how to interrupt this terrible pattern and what role can art play in it - "The Great" is trying to think about it in one way or another.

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