Darwin's Nightmare (2004)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Hubert Sauper

Writer:

Hubert Sauper (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2005 (Austria)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.

Plot Keywords:

Lake Victoria | Fish | Perch | Africa | Nile Perch

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins

Cast

Elizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga Nsese	...	Herself - Pilots' girlfriend, singer
Raphael Tukiko Wagara	...	Himself - Night guard
Dimond Remtulia	...	Himself - Fish factory owner
Marcus Nyoni	...	Himself - Airport police officer
Sergey Samarets	...	Himself - Ilyushin-76 captain
Jonathan Nathanael	...	Himself - Young painter
Msafiri 'Safiri' Habat	...	Himself - One-legged street boy
Dima Rogonov	...	Himself - Singing pilot
Vladimir Tarasenko	...	Himself - Air navigator
Jura Biriuchev	...	Himself - Freight supervisor
Stanislav Ivanchenko	...	Himself - Radio engineer
Jakob Maiseli	...	Himself - Fish-quality controller
Lalit Malhotra	...	Himself - Simba Plastics salesman
Shadard Mkono	...	Himself - Fishing camp leader
Cleopa Kaijage	...	Himself - Reverend

Also Known As:

Darwinin painajainen (Finland)
Darwins Alptraum (Austria)
Darwins mardröm (Finland: Swedish title)
Le cauchemar de Darwin (France)

Runtime:

107 min | Australia:111 min

Country:

Austria | Belgium | France | Canada | Finland | Sweden

Language:

English | Russian | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:7 | Iceland:L | Czech Republic:15 | Singapore:PG | Hungary:16 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Australia:M | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Lake Victoria, Tanzania

Company:

Mille et Une Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Smagsdommerne: (#2.13)" (2005)

Powerful Message but Lacks Focus

A documentary about poverty, globalization, the Nile Perch fish, Africa...and far more. I resoundingly agree with everything this documentary is ABOUT, but I wasn't altogether enthused about THIS documentary.

Beginning with the case of the Nile Perch fish (which was introduced into Tanzania's Lake Victoria and subsequently eradicated all other species in the Lake), the film branches out into every direction imaginable.

The film is essentially presented as an introduction to the ideas of capitalism and globalization, but doesn't introduce the viewer to anything beyond the surface, nor does it draw overt links between any of its ideas. Darwin's Nightmare attempts to use the existence of the Nile Perch as a case study exemplifying the ails of globalization, but doesn't do so very effectively.

Granted, the film is emotionally raw and moving, and our theatre, too, sat in still silence as the credits rolled, however, a similar reaction could be gained if the World Vision television spot was played in the theatre. Powerful? Yes. A great documentary? No.