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Darwin's Nightmare

Play trailer Poster for Darwin's Nightmare 2004 1h 47m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
90% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Hubert Sauper's Oscar-nominated documentary about the Nile perch, a species introduced into Lake Victoria as an experiment in the sixties. Since then, the fish has not only wiped out the lake's other marine life, but also has a tendency to consume its own young. Unfortunately, the Nile perch is also the region's most profitable export. Everyone with a stake in the market downplays the ecological disaster.
Darwin's Nightmare

What to Know

Critics Consensus

This eye-opening documentary brings some of the shocking effects of globalization to light.

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Critics Reviews

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John Monaghan Detroit Free Press 03/31/2006
3/4
The movie prefers to show snippets of life and let the audience make the connections. Many of these scenes prove memorable. Go to Full Review David Denby The New Yorker 02/28/2006
If Sauper is fired up by anti-globalist conviction, his instincts as an artist and as a man rule out any kind of rhetoric or cheapness. Go to Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 02/24/2006
3/4
The words Being poor is like being old are scrawled on the door of a shack; like this movie, it's a howl waiting to be heard. Go to Full Review Kam Williams Black Collegian 06/22/2007
4/4
Contrasts European greed and decadence with the fallout visited upon Africa due to the relentless rape of its natural resources in the name of profit. Go to Full Review Scott Mendelson rec.arts.movies.reviews 05/07/2007
C
Dan Jardine Apollo Guide 04/02/2007
90/100
A film of intelligence and great empathy that examines the corrosive effects of imperialism on people often left off the pages of history's textbooks. A heartbreakingly great film. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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03/17/2021 Darwin's Nightmare lets the camera and the people tell the story, which makes it even more impactful. It illustrates how the big system preys on people from less fortunate countries for profit. Though hard to follow at times due to the language barrier, it is still an important watch. See more 03/07/2013 The biggest strength and weakness of this movie was the lack of explanatory narration. He throws you right in there and really lets the characters tell you the story. Some shots were pure genius. I thought it was a great film that shows yet another example of wealthy nations exploiting the poor in every possible way in the situation. See more 10/13/2012 If you want to see the world beyond your bubble, then by all means watch this documentary. See more 09/15/2012 Fantastic storytelling. Horrifying reality. See more 07/06/2012 A very good documentary about what is really going on in Tanzania. It is very hard to watch, but an eye-opener about third world countries. The interesting part is that nothing really is explicitly explained. The audience sees different events and any intelligent person can figure out what is really not being said. See more 10/19/2011 At first a bit bizarre, but really powerful in the second half. Makes you think why do we complain this much in our lives. We should watch documentaries like this one from time to time. See more Read all reviews
Darwin's Nightmare

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Hubert Sauper

Director

Edouard Mauriat

Producer

Antonin Svoboda

Producer

Martin Gschlacht

Producer

Barbara Albert

Producer

Hubert Toint

Producer

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Darwin's Nightmare

Darwin's Nightmare (2004) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Hubert Sauper's Oscar-nominated documentary about the Nile perch, a species introduced into Lake Victoria as an experiment in the sixties. Since then, the fish has not only wiped out the lake's other marine life, but also has a tendency to consume its own young. Unfortunately, the Nile perch is also the region's most profitable export. Everyone with a stake in the market downplays the ecological disaster.
Director
Hubert Sauper
Producer
Edouard Mauriat, Antonin Svoboda, Martin Gschlacht, Barbara Albert, Hubert Toint, Hubert Sauper
Screenwriter
Hubert Sauper
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jun 1, 2005
Release Date (DVD)
Jun 26, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA)
$203.6K
Runtime
1h 47m