SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities – Minamata disease.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Minamata Plot Summary
In 1971, the American photographer W. Eugene Smith is famous for his numerous “photographic essays” published in Life, but he becomes a recluse. Initially he refuses a commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes to return to Japan and investigate the poisoning of Minamata residents. A passionate Japanese translator, Aileen, urges him to accept it. Smith is finally convinced to do his best to unmask the devastating effects of corporate greed, an accomplice of the local police and government. He travels to Minamata in Japan to document the devastating effect of mercury poisoning and Minamata disease in coastal communities. This disease is caused by industrial pollution linked to the activities of the chemical company Chisso. Armed with only his Minolta camera against a powerful company, Smith must win the trust of the broken community and find the images that will bring this story to the world. While there, Smith becomes the victim of severe reprisals. He is therefore urgently repatriated to the United States. However, this report will make him an icon of photojournalism.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).