Minamata Trailer: Johnny Depp Leads Eugene Smith Biopic

After making its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, Vertigo Releasing has acquired the Johnny Depp-starring biopic Minamata and has unveiled the first trailer for the drama as well as a UK release date. The trailer can be viewed in the player below!

During his lifetime, Smith was a photographer for Life magazine, with one of his most infamous works being his coverage of the poisoning of the people of Minamata, Japan through mercury poisoning, which the film will cover. The story will begin with Smith, a former World War II photographer, coming out of a life of reclusiveness when an old friend asks him to travel to Japan to expose this big story.

Based on the book by Smith and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith, the film is written by David K. Kessler and is being directed by Andrew Levitas, writer and director of the 2014 family drama Lullaby and star of past sitcoms including Party of Five and Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher.

Alongside Depp, the cast for the film includes Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, Mortal Kombat), Minami Hinase (Battle Royale, Her Granddaughter), Bill Nighy (Detective Pikachu, Emma.), Jun Kunimura (The Wailing, Midway) and Tadanobu Asano (Thor: The Dark World, Mortal Kombat).

“Working with Johnny to give voice to those who have been silently suffering is a responsibility we do not take lightly,” Levitas previously said in a statement. “Much like Eugene Smith in 1971, we could not feel more privileged or humbled to be tasked with the mission of bringing this incredible story to the world.”

Minamata is set to hit theaters in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2021 with no release date currently set for the US.