All language subtitles for Minamata 2020 PROPER 720p WEB H264-NAISU_track3_eng

[WOMAN SINGING SOFTLY
IN JAPANESE]

[CONTINUES SINGING SOFTLY]

[WATER LAPPING]

[BLUES ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

[BLUES ROCK MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

I'm done.

[BLUES ROCK MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

-[CAR HORNS HONK]
-[SIREN WAILING]

MILLIE: I'll have the proofs

from the Ali-Frazier fight
by 6:00.

Make it 4:00. Everybody out.

Serial killers,
fruit loops, lies and Jesus.

That's what
sells magazines, Bob.

You should lose all those
corny war photos out there.

What have you got for me?

I don't have time for
a cocktail-hour sip and grin.

I want you to speak at
the opening of my exhibition.

I just want you to say

something about
how great I was.

-"Was"?
-Yeah, how great I was.

I mean, how great I still am,
of course.

But, you know, way back then
when you could be great,

when the truth
still meant something.

So, yeah, you just have to say

that I'm
the greatest photographer

that LIFE magazine
has ever had.

But you aren't.

You're the single
most impossible photographer

that LIFE has ever had.

Well, fuck it,
just say that, then.

I can't, Gene.

I told you when you called,
I'm out of town that week.

-I got a board meeting.
-Look, Bob, I'm done.

I'm tired.
My body's older than I am.

I'm always in goddamn pain.

I can't trust
my fucking dick anymore.

Constantly in a foul mood.

Even the fucking drugs
bore me.

My kids won't speak to me.

You know,
I could go head first

into a fucking shrimp cocktail
at any given moment.

And I'm broke.

I'm sorry, Gene.

I wasn't looking
for your sympathy.

I was just stating the facts.

By the way, if anyone should
be asking for sympathy, Bob,

it should be you.

Look at this dreck
you're churning out.

Amazing.

No ladder and you got all
the way up on your high horse,

just like that.

We practically give this
magazine away to our readers.

We cover all the major issues
that touch their lives,

issues from
all over the country,

all around the world.

We do it every week.

On top of that,

we fight television sets
for the same eyeballs

you took for granted
would always be there.

It gets worse. All the time.

What we do,
what I do every day,

is find a way to pay for
all of this and keep it going.

What we put on the cover,

what we put in the middle
of those stories,

that's what does that.

Wow. Well,

your horse is obviously
much higher than mine.

Consider this
as an overdue thank you.

A royalty check you found
in an old pair of corduroys.

Cash it at the branch
on 17th and 6th.

Keep it off the books
that way.

You know that you're
only sitting behind that desk

because of dogs like me,
right?

Good luck, Gene. Don't waste
what time you got left.

You're a dick, Bob.

GENE: The date is Sunday,
February the 28th, 1971.

Well, it's me, I've done it,
I've done the retrospective,

and now I don't have to do
any more things.

I sold all my stuff, you know.
My equipment, what have you...

and I'm gonna make sure

that you guys get the money
for that, 'cause...

and, you know, I hate
to sound maudlin, but, uh...

I think it's time for me to...

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

-God damn it.
-[RECORDER CLICKS]

-[KNOCK ON DOOR]
-I'm coming.

[DOOR UNLOCKING]

-WOMAN: Mr. Smith.
-Now's not the time.

Hi, I'm Aileen and this is
our photographer, Giichi.

Thanks. Thank you.

Why is this man
giving me cookies?

Fujifilm. We are here
for the advertisement.

Oh, that. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, right. Christ.

Well, look, um, I'm gonna
have to level with you.

I have consumed quite a whole
lot of alcohol and I...

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

What did he say?

Giichi says you are
his favorite photographer

and the reason
he's gotten into the field.

Well, that's very nice.
That's very nice.

And... And what about you?
Have you never heard of me?

Not before this morning, no.

So you're not a fan?

It's too early to say.

All right.

What do you want me to do?

They want you to say
that Fuji color film

is more vibrant than any other
color film on the markets.

It's the only color film
you trust.

Turn that shit off.
Turn everything off.

Um...

Do they really
want me to say that?

Yes. It was part of the deal.

Wow. Holy cow. Oh, fuck.

You know, I've never
shot in color. Ever.

Not once. Never ever.

And anyone who knows my work
will know that.

So that's a very big problem.

I'm sorry,
but it's in the contract.

Did I sign the contract?

Will Naughton is playing
at Francesco's tonight.

Join me.

[LIGHT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

All right.

[SIGHS] Then let's get on
with the puppet show.

[LIGHT JAZZ MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

So, are you going to give me
a photography lesson?

Oh, listen, I would,

but I've damn near sold off
all my equipment.

I need to send money to
my kids, rent's way overdue,

and, uh, my bank account
just walked under a duck.

-So...
-What duck?

Uh, not a real duck...
Never mind.

Sometimes you just get fed up.
You know, sometimes.

I used to be more fun.

I used to be a lot more fun,
I swear to you.

I bet you were a fun dad
to have five kids.

No. No, I wasn't.
Not even close.

I was never there.
I was gone all the time.

Absent. No Little League.

No Barbies,
no Easy-Bake Ovens.

I missed it all.

[CAMERA CLICKING]

I had a great time
with you tonight, Aileen.

[TRAIN PASSING NEARBY]

I...

didn't just happen
to get this job with you.

Uh-huh.

There's a company in Japan

that's been dumping
their toxic waste

into the sea for years.

The Chisso Corporation.

People are getting sick
and dying.

The people need help.

There's a resistance
on the ground,

but we need global attention.

We need you

at the shareholders meeting
next week.

Oh, well,

I'm afraid that Japan has seen
the last of me, kid.

That was 25 years ago.

Listen, if that's why
you're here,

I'll put you on a long list of
people that I've disappointed.

Terribly sorry.

Look, I got a few things
to do, you know.

Defenestration and what-not,
you know, so...

Sorry, I did that all wrong
and I've upset you.

It wasn't my intention.

No, no, it was a lovely night.

It was.

GENE: Mm.

Here's some information.
Please have a look.

My number is on the envelope.

Take care, Aileen.

[TRAIN RUMBLING NEARBY]

[AIRPLANE ENGINE ROARING]

[DISTANT CRIES AND SCREAMS]

-[EXPLOSION]
-[MACHINE GUN FIRING]

[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]

[TRAIN RUMBLING NEARBY]

-[PHONE RINGING]
-[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]

ROBERT: I love the, uh,
suggestion for the center.

It looks ideal to me.

WOMAN:
This center is very strong.

-ROBERT: Yeah...
-Robert.

Good...

Robert, huge crisis in Japan.
Mercury poisoning.

-There's your Pulitzer Prize.
-Gene, what the hell?

-People are dying, Robert.
-Yeah, all day, every day.

It doesn't mean
you get to fuck up my layout.

GENE: Oh, God damn it.

Am I interrupting
your little layout?

Now, you guys just go on
and make room

for your fucking
Oil of Olay ads

while innocent people
drop like flies, huh, Bob?

You're talking about Minamata.

GENE: Yeah.

See, she knows. She's smart.

Is there anybody else here
as smart as her?

MILLIE: A factory there
has been contaminating

the bay
of some fishing village.

First they called it
"the Strange Disease,"

then "Dancing Cat Fever,"

and now it's simply called
"Minamata disease."

It's fucking monstrous.

I've been following it
in The Herald and The Times.

Small stories
every couple of months.

But no one
has really covered it.

I mean,
it's in the goddamn fish

and that's all those
poor people have to eat.

The Times has a Tokyo desk.

And we have deadlines
literally in one hour.

So that sounds to me,
Bob, like, uh,

yeah, time is of the essence.

And you know that the cover-up

is gonna be as much of a story
as the story itself.

I gotta go. Come on.

You expect me to send you?

You'd be
a real dumbass not to.

Gene, stop.

A moment, if you please.

GENE: This is the story, Bob.

-You know this is the story.
-I'm not sending you.

What? Why not?

Gene, I'm gonna throw you
out of the goddamn window.

I wish you would have done
that last time I was here.

Gene, listen closely.

If I don't send you,
you can't fuck me on this.

You understand
what I'm saying?

-No.
-Call me at home.

Don't call me here.

And you can't
disappear on me again.

Bob...

I would never
disappoint you again.

Just try not
to disappoint yourself.

[TRANQUIL MUSIC PLAYING]

-[GUNFIRE]
-[DISTANT SCREAMS]

-[HIGH-PITCHED PINGING]
-[BREATHES RAGGEDLY]

[GUNSHOT]

[TRANQUIL MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[RAIN PATTERING]

[CAMERA CLICKING]

AILEEN: Gene, let's go!

I'm coming!

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Take off your shoes.
Take off your shoes.

[WOMAN AND MAN
SPEAKING JAPANESE]

You must be quiet.

The children are sleeping.

[WHISPERS] Oh. Okay.

[AILEEN THANKING IN JAPANESE]

-[MASAKO SPEAKS JAPANESE]
-[AILEEN CHUCKLES]

[AILEEN THANKING IN JAPANESE]

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

[MASAKO AND AILEEN
SPEAK JAPANESE]

[MASAKO CHUCKLES]

Honestly, I don't really have

so much of an appetite
right now.

But it's definitely
coming back.

This food is... [SNIFFS]

Uh, I'd like...
I'm interested...

I'm interested in this.

Uh... [SPEAKS JAPANESE]

[CRUNCHING]

-Mmm.
-[MASAKO LAUGHING]

-[TATSUO SPEAKING JAPANESE]
-GENE: Mm. Mmm!

GENE: Mm-hmm. Mmm.

[AILEEN COMPLIMENTS
IN JAPANESE]

-[BOTH COMPLIMENT IN JAPANESE]
-[TATSUO AND MASAKO CHUCKLING]

-GENE: Mmm.
-[THUNDER RUMBLES]

[TATSUO CLEARS THROAT]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

It's not easy to speak about
certain things.

[CONTINUES SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Akiko is our oldest.

[TATSUO CONTINUES
SPEAKING JAPANESE]

They tried to tell us
it was cerebral palsy,

but we knew better.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

AILEEN: She was born very sick
and she remains sick.

And she will never get better.

[MASAKO CONTINUES
SPEAKING JAPANESE]

We are strong family.

She is our treasure.

-[THUNDER RUMBLES]
-[RAIN CONTINUES PATTERING]

[ALL CHUCKLE]

TATSUO: Mm.

[GROANS]

[SIGHS DEEPLY]

[SIGHS]

-I will translate you later.
-[GRUNTS QUIETLY]

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Can you, uh...

Can you please thank them
for their kindness,

their... their generosity
and for their hospitality?

And if it's at all possible,

to photograph Akiko,
perhaps tomorrow.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Ah. [SPEAKS JAPANESE]

[SNIFFLES]

[CONTINUES SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

AILEEN: She will make our bed.
GENE: Mm, okay.

[GRUNTS, CHUCKLES]

[TATSUO AND AILEEN
CONVERSING IN JAPANESE]

[GLASS CLINKING]

Um, Aileen?

Would you mind asking if
he might have just a little,

you know, sloop?

AILEEN: Yep.

[SPEAKING QUIETLY IN JAPANESE]

GENE: He's got some?

[WHISPERING IN JAPANESE]

-Whiskey.
-GENE: Oh, whiskey.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[GRUNTS CONTENTEDLY]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[SIGHS]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[SERENE MUSIC PLAYING]

[TOOL THUDDING SOFTLY]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[SNIFFS]

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[MAN CLEARS THROAT]

MAN: Many are tired
of fighting

or they don't want to bring
attention to themselves.

Then there's us,
the Direct Negotiations Group.

We are not so easy
to keep quiet.

GENE: I can imagine.

AILEEN: Kiyoshi is
one of the lead activists

for the Direct
Negotiations Group.

GENE: Here, I got a light.

AILEEN: His son was born
with the disease.

Kiyoshi also has it,

but it's yet to be
officially recognized.

Got it? Got it?

-Hmm. Thank you.
-For sure.

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

It's in my hands
and in my vision.

But it's my son and those
like him that keep me going.

-Keep me fighting, you know?
-GENE: Sure.

Does it ever affect
your ability to shoot?

Oh.

I may waste a little more film
than I should.

But, for some reason, with
the camera I'm not so bad.

GENE: What, uh...
What's your endgame in this?

KIYOSHI: Chisso doesn't
believe us patients.

They don't believe
we are suffering.

So we want to look
the president in the eyes,

we want him to see us and then
tell us that we don't suffer.

GENE: What makes you think
he's gonna listen to you?

KIYOSHI: I don't know.

Maybe if we make
a noise loud enough,

they won't have a choice.

With you,
we have a better chance.

[GUARD SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

[CLAMORING]

[SHOUTS IN JAPANESE]

[SIGHS]

-[SIGHS]
-[KIDS CHATTERING NEARBY]

GENE: I hate that shit.

I used to fucking hate
gym class.

They used to make us
all sit down in a row,

cross-legged, you know?

And I couldn't do it. My legs
just don't work like that.

They don't work like that.

And... [LAUGHS]

[GENE SNIFFS]

I know you don't understand
a word that I'm saying,

but that's not gonna stop me
from talking, so...

you might as well
just dig in, kid.

You like jazz?

Well, you'd better,
because jazz,

jazz is what we've got.

It's just fucking jazz.

Improvisation. Everything.

See this?

Anyone could do this. Anyone.
Takes nothing.

You point, focus, click.

And most important: Fuck up.

Fuck up. Because
that's the only way to learn.

So...

you take it, kid.
I'm sick of it.

I should have known better
coming here.

So you go on, play the music.

[CAMERA CLICKING]

I'm, uh...

I'm not really sure if I can
hear it anymore, you know?

[CAMERA CLICKING]

[KIDS LAUGHING]

[KIDS CHEER]

AILEEN: I don't believe you.

I mean,
what kind of photographer

gives the camera away?
Unbelievable.

[GENE GROANS]

Passing the torch, Aileen,
is how one dies gracefully.

-Somebody said that once.
-You all right?

-GENE: What? Yeah, Kiyoshi...
-[KIDS LAUGHING]

...it's probably best
you know this now.

I disappoint people and
I disappoint people always.

Where are we?

[HUFFS] Aileen found you two
a little home to stay in.

GENE: What? Really?
KIYOSHI: Yes.

GENE: Me and her?
KIYOSHI: Yes.

GENE: Wow, that was nice.

KIYOSHI: Come with me.

We also put together
a dark room for you.

I set it up just the way
you have back home.

Thank you.

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY] Pleasure.

ROBERT: Gene, good news.
We're moving up your piece.

I think we might have an issue

with more photographs
than car ads

for the first time
for three years.

It turns out there's
a UN environmental conference

in Stockholm in a month.

Very first of its kind.
We need to coordinate the two.

Gee whizz, Bob.

I don't think
I've heard you this excited

since they faked
the moon landing.

And Millie has shaken every
tree with the anti-nuke folks

and the WHO here and in Japan.

We have all the science
to highlight your images.

-Is he saving his receipts?
-So how's it going out there?

Oh, it's fun. It's fun.
I'm having a great time.

I wish you were here. I'd...
I'd let you buy me a drink.

ROBERT: There's no wiggle room
on this one, Gene.

If we don't have the images by
next week, we won't make it.

-You know what? What?
-Gene.

-I got a bad connection, Bob.
-Gene.

GENE: I might have had
a little something to drink,

and I didn't know
what I was doing.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

I asked the people to give

whatever cameras
and film they had.

[CHUCKLES]

[THANKING IN JAPANESE]

Maybe you can join me
thanking the people.

Oh, yeah. Thank you. Thanks.

AILEEN: Bow.
GENE: All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's my camera.

[BOY SPEAKS JAPANESE]

GENE: Yeah, that's me.
That's mine.

Great. Got it. All right.

Well, that's all right.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

-What?
-How is it turn into photos?

Well, you...

Turn it like this. Right?
Turn it like this.

Come here, you do it.
Give me your hands.

Here. Take that, okay? Right?

Put that hand there.
Okay, now, I got you.

Now, just turn it like that.
Right?

-Like that.
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

"You are not afraid
to touch me?"

Why would I be?

[CHUCKLES]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Your hands shake because you
have Minamata disease, too.

No, no. No, no.
No, I just drink a bunch.

What's this kid's name?

Sigeru!

Uh, yeah.

Gene.

Um, it's getting late.
Maybe he should be in bed, no?

Thanks, kid.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

He wants to learn

how to make the film strip
into big pictures.

Um, I'm not really here
to give photography classes.

Especially to kids.

Okay, I'll teach him.
I'll teach you.

Um...

You take it.

Here. You got it?

And you go take
some pictures, huh?

And we'll develop them later.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

GENE: Okay?

[THANKS IN JAPANESE]

-[CHUCKLES]
-[GENE THANKS IN JAPANESE]

GENE: Okay, pal.

-Pretty good, that kid.
-AILEEN: Mm-hmm.

-You like that one?
-Can I have it?

No, you can't
just have it. No.

Maybe I can help.

You know, uh,

the Native Americans,

they believed

that a photograph would take
a piece of the subject's soul.

But what gets left out
of the fine print is

that it can also take a piece
of the photographer's soul.

You understand
what I am saying? It, uh...

It will break your heart.

So, if you take it,

you take it seriously.

Agreed?

-Put your stuff here.
-GENE: Mm.

[BOTH SPEAK JAPANESE]

Goddamn.

I'm glad that worked.

[WOMAN ON PA
SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[AILEEN SPEAKING JAPANESE]

GENE: May I? May I?
AILEEN: Yes.

[CAMERA CLICKING]

[WHISPERING IN JAPANESE]

Okay.

I'm gonna see if I can find
something we can use

at the shareholders meeting.

[MAN WHISPERING WEAKLY
IN JAPANESE]

It's okay to take a picture.
Just don't show his face.

Uh, listen,

people must see what's
going on behind the eyes,

because that's where
the truth is.

It's an empathy thing.

-I need faces.
-Well, we need empathy here.

Okay.

[CAMERA CLICKS]

Thank you, sir.

[AILEEN THANKING IN JAPANESE]

-[GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING]
-[IMPERCEPTIBLE CONVERSATION]

AILEEN: Okay,
let's go find the nursery.

GENE: Oh. That's...
Let's turn around. This way.

[MAN SHOUTS IN JAPANESE]

GENE: Just keep going.
Just keep going.

Slip in here.
Quick, quick, quick.

-[ALARM WAILING]
-KIYOSHI: Gene! Aileen!

I found the lab.

Doctor Yamashita's been
the chief doctor for Chisso

since the first victims
showed up.

They had to be running tests.

They must have
found something.

[ALARM CONTINUES WAILING]

[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]

GENE: Hey! I found something.

AILEEN: It says the cat he fed
from Chisso's pipe water

reacted just like
the patients.

Spasms.

Paralysis.

Convulsions.

Which is exactly what happened

when one is poisoned
with mercury.

It literally destroys
brain tissue.

And for 15 years they knew.

They knew, Gene, and they kept
poisoning people.

GENE: Give me that.

You turn around,

pick up your camera,
check your settings.

You cannot let your emotions
run the show,

because you will fucking lose,

and sometimes
you might fucking die.

Focus on the photograph
you want to take.

Focus on what you want to say.

Do it now.

[CAMERA CLICKS]

You remember how it affected
you emotionally, right?

How did it make you feel?

Was it unpleasant?
A menace? Was it evil?

Just over here.
You're changing.

Many things, yeah, okay.

Now...

Take it out.

Dump it in the soup.

So here's
a little secret of mine:

use your hands a lot.

Caress the image.

You warm the print with
the body heat from your hands.

That's how
you tell your story.

Here, dry your hands.

Thank you.

Hmm. What for?

Oh, wait.

Ooh, don't move.
Don't move. Don't move.

-Click.
-[CHUCKLES]

Aren't you supposed
to ask permission first?

Permission is like
asking for a kiss.

No, it destroys the moment.
You just gotta take it.

Like that?

Something like that, yes.
Yeah.

Just, uh,

try not to forget
about the fine print, kid.

[GENE CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

[PROJECTOR WHIRRING]

[PEOPLE CLAMORING]

AILEEN: Gene!

GENE: It's okay.

I'll be back.

[MACHINERY WHIRRING]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[SIGHS]

Mr. Smith. Come in.

-Thank you.
-Please sit.

Would you like something
to drink? Water?

You know, I actually think
I'd rather wait

until I get outside the
building before I drop dead,

so, um, perhaps a soda pop,
you know,

with the top still on it,
in the bottle.

Okay.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

GENE: Thank you.

Mr. Smith,

do you know what
"parts per million" means?

Without getting confused
by all the science,

it is a very,
very small amount.

And small amounts
are accepted.

Even in this bottle,
unopened bottle of cola,

there may be the tiniest
amount of some material

you might not expect
or appreciate.

But it's microscopic,
barely even there.

May I show you something?

Look over there.

The Cyclator.

We spent much money
creating a system

that keeps the water safe.

[CHUCKLES LIGHTLY]

I even drank from it
to prove its safety.

[GENE LAUGHING]

It's a great photograph.
It's really a nice photograph.

-Oh, thank you. [CHUCKLES]
-You're welcome.

[CLICKS TONGUE] So...

let's take a walk.

[MACHINERY WHIRRING]

Do you know what we make here?

Toxic chemicals.

Good chemicals.

Chemicals that have
fertilized the land,

help feed millions.

And chemicals needed
to make plastics,

even medicines.

Also chemicals
for developing photographs

and chemicals
that make 35-millimeter film.

Like the kind
you use yourself, Mr. Smith.

We employ over 60%
of the residents here.

If the protesters succeed

and they put Chisso
out of business,

what happens then?

GENE: I mean,
how the fuck would I know?

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

NOJIMA: I know that
you are broke, Mr. Smith.

That you owe money,

and that you are
on brink of getting evicted.

You are correct, sir.
You are very correct.

But I've still got my youth,

and my girly charm,

which I think
will get me through.

A father is supposed

to provide
and protect his children.

Obviously, you care more
about yourself

than your own flesh and blood.

Now, you may choose to believe

the small amount
of the local fishermen

who claim

that they have somehow
been harmed by our methods.

But I am sorry to say,

they are
the parts per million,

relative to the greater
amount, the greater good.

You know, for a second there,

I thought you and I
was gonna be good pals,

but I can see now
that I was sadly mistaken,

because you, sir,
are full of fucking shit.

[SPEAKS JAPANESE]

-Please follow me.
-Certainly.

Why not?

Spanky and Alfalfa
gonna shoot me in the back?

NOJIMA: I am a businessman.
I make deals.

Like we have done
with the locals

who have taken our payments
since the '20s.

It is even a line item
in our budget.

50,000 American dollars.

Here's the chance
to amend your sins...

and provide for the people
that counted on you.

You've led quite the career,
Mr. Smith.

What else
do you need to prove?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[GROANS]

[CAMERA CLICKING]

[DISSENTS]

Mm-mm.

[MAN DISSENTS]

[CLAMORING]

MAN: Oh!

[CLAMORING]

[MASAKO SPEAKING SOFTLY]

[DOOR OPENS]

[AILEEN AND MASAKO
GREET IN JAPANESE]

Shoes.

[GRUMBLES] God damn it.

[CONVERSING IN JAPANESE]

[AILEEN GREETS AKIKO
IN JAPANESE]

[SOFT LAUGHTER AND CHATTER]

[CHUCKLES]

Can she see?

-AILEEN: No.
-No.

Akiko can't see or talk.

She's congenital.

The fetuses
absorb the mercury,

sparing the mother.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[AILEEN SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Ah.

GENE: What? What? What?

She's asking if you have
any pictures of your children.

-GENE: Of my children?
-Mm-hmm.

You know, uh...

No. I'm ashamed to say
that I don't.

It's bad.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

I need to help Mrs. Matsumura
at the market.

Okay.

Can you watch her?

-What?
-Akiko.

No.

No, I can't do that.

You'll be fine.
We'll be back in one hour.

I am not
the most responsible...

Stop it.

No.

[AILEEN SPEAKS JAPANESE]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

I'm not so good at this kind
of thing, you know? Sorry.

[AKIKO WHIMPERS]

You want to touch my beard?

There's not many beards
out here, right?

Fuzzy? Fuzzy-wuzzy?

[GENE CHUCKLES]

[AKIKO MOANS SOFTLY]

[SINGING] May God bless
and keep you always

Let your wishes all come true

May you always do for others
And let others do for you

[AKIKO MOANS]

May you build a ladder
to the stars

And climb on every rung

And may you stay forever young

[ FOREVER YOUNG
PLAYS IN BACKGROUND]

May you stay forever young

[ FOREVER YOUNG
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

-[CAMERA CLICKING]
-[CHATTERING IN JAPANESE]

[LAUGHTER]

[VEHICLE PULLING UP]

Uh... You got company.

[CONVERSING IN JAPANESE]

[VOICES RAISING]

[SHOUTING IN JAPANESE]

[CHILD CRYING]

[SHOUTING IN JAPANESE]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

-[CONTINUES CRYING]
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[SOFT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING]

[SIGHS]

NOJIMA: All I ask for
are any negatives,

any photos you've taken
while you've been here,

and that you go home
immediately

and let what is happening here

play out here among Japanese,

in Minamata,

in the community and courts,
where it belongs,

and where you don't.

GENE: On a scale
of one to ten:

Fuck you.

[LIQUID SLOSHING]

[DISTANT SHOUT]

[DISTANT CLAMORING]

[CHILD GIGGLES]

[MAN GREETS]

[KNOCKS ON DOOR]

-GENE: Yeah.
-Are you gonna eat?

GENE: Read the sign, Aileen.

I am being nourished
by my own hunger.

And maybe just a tiny amount
of whiskey.

And maybe just a tiny amount
of amphetamine.

That's our little secret.

[ BEYOND THE SEA
PLAYING FAINTLY]

[SINGING ALONG] Somewhere

Beyond the sea

Somewhere waiting for me

My love stands on golden sands

And watches the ship...

Stop.

[ BEYOND THE SEA
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[MUFFLED EXPLOSION]

[GASPS]

[AILEEN GASPS]

Oh, Jesus.

[PEOPLE CLAMORING]

[EXPLOSION]

-No, Gene. Gene, no!
-GENE: No, no, no.

Gene, no! Gene!

GENE: No more. No! No!
That's it. No! I'm done. No!

Don't you dare follow me.

I'll ruin your fucking life.

No more. I'm done.

[PHONE RINGING]

Yes?

MAN: You have a collect call
from Japan by a Eugene Smith.

Will you accept the charges?

Can you ask him to call me
back in a few hours?

He's quite insistent that...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll accept the charges.

[VIOLENT COUGHING ON PHONE]

GENE: [SLURRING] Hello, Bob.
Bob? It's terrible here.

Listen,
there's no fuckin' chance.

Gene, talk to me.

Okay. I'm coming home.

I'm not gonna get the picture,

and I can't do
this shit anymore.

By the way, it's been made
very, very clear to me now

[CHUCKLES] that I am seriously
unwelcome here.

Bob. Bob, what's wrong?

I went to
the goddamn mat for you

and you ask me what's wrong?

Well, hey, I'm sorry.

I don't give a fuck
what you are.

Listen to me,
I need the pictures, Gene.

I need this story, and I need
you to get me this story

-like nobody else can.
-No, you don't.

Big people hurt little people.

Little people get hurt
by big people.

Same thing here,
same thing there.

This picture, that picture.

They all burn up
in a fucking fire.

What does it matter?

And memory
is the goddamn devil.

But the people over there,
they matter, right?

I know that
because you told me.

No, you know what matters?

Money. Money for my kids.

Have you been drinking?

'Course not, Bob.
I'm a professional. Jesus.

Gene, hang up.
Go back to sleep.

In the morning,
it will all seem different.

You listen to me, pal.

I was recently
quite reluctantly escorted

by a couple of goons

to go and meet the top fella
at the Chisso joint.

What the fuck
are you talking about?

He offered me

a whole lot of money, Bob,
whole lot of dough,

and I gotta say, I gotta say,
the dough was awful pretty.

And you told him
how long and hard to go?

Yes, I did.
Yes, I did, like a dick.

And you know what?
I should have taken it.

But I'm a dick.
I'm a dick, Bob.

Just like you're a dick.

And do you know what?
Here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna go right back there

and I'm gonna grab it.
I'm taking it.

Don't you dare.

Oh, yeah, no, listen.

I'll wire it to you,

you take back the six grand
that I owe you,

and then you send the rest
to my kids, okay?

Not okay, Eugene.
Not fucking okay.

You know how you always
told me how much your
kids hated you?

You think a couple of grand
is gonna make a difference?

You really think
your kids are that naive?

Oh, fuck you. I don't need
to listen to that shit.

You call me a sellout.
Here's the irony.

I did, I did sell out
to the board,

to the boys with the abacus
in the basement,

and now I'm gambling
the reputation

-of the greatest magazine.
-Are you gonna give me

a pep talk? Because I actually
may need to vomit first.

67% ads, and I'm losing.

Likely I won't even have
my integrity

to fall back on in my old age,

but I will have yours.

Damn it, Gene,
I will have yours.

I'll tell you what,
if there's any left,

I will stuff it
into a fucking box

-and ship it to you.
-I don't know

how many more issues
I'm gonna be able to publish,

but one of them
is going to have

the most important
photographic essay

of the last 30 years,

or I will personally
fly out there

and kick your pathetic,
whinging ass!

The kids in the office,
the special ones,

-they don't look up to me.
-Hey, Bob.

They look up to you,
because you matter.

And in reference
to your last comment,

blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah.

Just bring me the story, okay?
Bring the story home.

[COUGHING]

Still there, Bob?

[FLIES BUZZING]

-[CAMERA CLICKS]
-What the fuck? What?

SIGERU: Sigeru.

You know there's a zoom
on that thing, right? Zoom.

-[CAMERA CLICKING]
-[GENE COUGHING]

GENE: Ow.

Do you have a gun
or an aspirin?

Or any drugs? No.

You want to take a picture?
Come here.

[CAMERA CLICKING]

-Excuse me.

Excuse me. I just want...

Would you, uh... Would you
mind translating this for me?

Um...

Hi. Kon'nichiwa. Um...

I'm really no good
at public speaking.

[MITSUO TRANSLATING
IN JAPANESE]

I suppose that
I'm one of those

a-picture's-worth-
a-thousand-words

type of guys, you know?

[TRANSLATING IN JAPANESE]

Anyway, that, uh,
doesn't matter.

I'm here to help, if I can.

But I need you to help me.

[MITSUO CONTINUES TRANSLATING
IN JAPANESE]

By allowing me

to spend some precious time
with you and your family.

[MITSUO TRANSLATING
IN JAPANESE]

So that I can help
to fight your fight.

[MITSUO TRANSLATING
IN JAPANESE]

GENE: So, I mean,
the question is this:

Who... Who is comfortable
and willing

to share these...

these very precious,
intimate moments

and to be photographed by me

with the utmost care
and respect?

[TRANSLATING IN JAPANESE]

Thank you.

Thank you. Arigato. Thank you.

What?

[SPEAKS JAPANESE]

What? Is that good?
What does it mean?

Are you drunk?

No one is ever drunk

if they can lie down on
the floor without holding on.

We're gonna do this together.

[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]

[SOMBER MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[MUSIC RISING]

[CAMERA CLICKING]

[ALL SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

[SHOUTING CONTINUES]

[MUFFLED SHOUTING]

[RADIO STATIC CRACKLING]

[SOBBING]

[INAUDIBLE]

[DARK DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]

[PROTESTORS CONTINUE SHOUTING]

[SHOUTING IN JAPANESE]

[CROWD CLAMORING]

[MAN ASSENTS]

Get out of here.

I'm staying by you.

[CONTINUES CLICKING CAMERA]

It's too dangerous. Get out.

[CLAMORING CONTINUES]

[CRYING AND SHOUTING]

AILEEN: Gene! Gene!

Gene!

[DARK MUSIC PLAYING]

[CLAMORING CONTINUES]

[GRUNTING]

-[GROANING]
-[BONES CRUNCH]

[BOTH SPITTING]

[SNIFFLING]

[DOOR OPENS]

No. What? No.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

She said you treat her

with much dignity and respect.

Thank you for that.

She say you made her laugh.

What the fuck is that?

[SPEAKS JAPANESE]

[SPEAKS SOFTLY]

[TEARFULLY]
Gene! Are you okay?

Okay. I'm okay. What's this?

Someone just brought it.

What the fuck is that?

AILEEN: What is that?

GENE: He came when I was...

AILEEN: It's the negatives
from our darkroom.

I don't get it.

GENE: Ow. [GROANS]

AILEEN:
Where did they come from?

[FAINT WHISPERING]

[NOJIMA SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MITSUO: Kiyoshi! Kiyoshi!

[CLAMORING]

[SHOUTS IN JAPANESE]

[PANICKED CHATTER]

MITSUO: Kiyoshi!

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[FAINT CONVERSATION
IN JAPANESE]

[WATER SPLASHING GENTLY]

AILEEN: We are ready.

[MASAKO SINGING SOFTLY
IN JAPANESE]

[SIGHS]

[CONTINUES SINGING SOFTLY]

[GENE SNIFFS, CLEARS THROAT]

[AILEEN SPEAKS QUIETLY
IN JAPANESE]

[WHISPERING IN JAPANESE]

[HUMMING SOFTLY]

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

[HUMMING CONTINUES]

Okay.

Very good.

Beautiful.

[GENE SNIFFS]

-I can't.
-Wait.

[GENE SNIFFS]

Fuck it.

[LENS WHIRRING]

Mm...

Do me a favor? Get me the...
my shutter... yeah?

Thank you.

Okay.

[CAMERA CLICKS]

[PENSIVE STRING MUSIC PLAYING]

[WATER LAPPING]

[PENSIVE STRING MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[IMPERCEPTIBLE CONVERSATION]

[WHISPERS] Son of a bitch.

He got it.

He fucking got it.

[STIFLES SOB]

[SNIFFLES]

[MUSIC RISING]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[NOJIMA SIGHS HEAVILY]

[SIGHS]

[UPLIFTING DRAMATIC MUSIC
PLAYING]

[CAMERA CLICKS]

We won. We won.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[SNIFFLES]

[PROTESTORS CHANTING
IN JAPANESE]

-[CHANTING CONTINUES]
-[WHISTLE BLOWS RHYTHMICALLY]

[UPLIFTING DRAMATIC MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[UPLIFTING DRAMATIC MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING]

[ETHEREAL FOLK MUSIC PLAYING]