A first look at Actor Johnny Depp in Minamata, the upcoming drama movie directed by Andrew Levitas from a script he co-wrote with Stephen Deuters, Jason Forman, and David Kessler based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith:

(Click on the picture to enlarge.)

Plot synopsis:
“Johnny Depp plays celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith in a real life David vs Goliath story, pitting Smith against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata – Japan in 1971.
With the glory days of World War II far behind him Smith has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But an old friend and a commission from ‘Life Magazine’ editor Ralph Graves convince him to journey back to Japan to expose a big story: the devastating annihilation of a coastal community, victims of corporate greed and complicit local police and government.
Armed with only his trusted Nikon camera, Smith must find the images that will bring this story to the World. At first, no one wants to help him and his enemies wish him dead, a new threat at every corner. But to finally stop hiding behind the lens and earn this broken community’s trust may prove to be Smith’s greatest challenge.
MINAMATA is an extremely moving redemptive story of how one man’s powerful photograph impacted the world to take action; yet in order to find it he had to open his heart.”

Does Johnny Depp look the part as a photojournalist?

A first official teaser poster has also been spotted in the wild, take a look below:

(Click on the poster to enlarge.)

MINAMATA

‘Let truth be the prejudice.’

W. Eugene Smith

Besides Johnny Depp, the cast also includes Bill Nighy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Jun Kunimura, Ryo Kase, Akiko Iwase, and Minami.

Check out those videos for a better understanding of the Minamata disaster:

Mercury Poisoning- The Minamata Story

Japan’s Ominous Dancing Cats and the Disaster That Followed.
In the 1950s, the people of Minamata, Japan started seeing strange behavior
from the local cats, and it wasn’t long before humans were showing the same symptoms.

The film has yet to get an official release date.

Stay tuned with us for more details about the movie Minamata.
:)