Darwin's Nightmare

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Darwin's Nightmare

Released Sep 11, 2004

1h 47m

Documentary

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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.

Critics Consensus

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

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Apr 1, 2006

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John Monaghan

Detroit Free Press

The movie prefers to show snippets of life and let the audience make the connections. Many of these scenes prove memorable.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 31, 2006

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Kam Williams

Black Collegian

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.

Rated: 4/4

Jun 22, 2007

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Scott Mendelson

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Rated: C

May 7, 2007

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Dan Jardine

Apollo Guide

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.

Rated: 90/100

Apr 2, 2007

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

If you want to see the world beyond your bubble, then by all means watch this documentary.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

Fantastic storytelling. Horrifying reality.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

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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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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