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Darwin's Nightmare

Play trailer Poster for Darwin's Nightmare Released Sep 11, 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 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 Full Review David Denby The New Yorker 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. Feb 28, 2006 Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 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. Rated: 3/4 Feb 24, 2006 Full Review 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 Full Review Scott Mendelson rec.arts.movies.reviews Rated: C May 7, 2007 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member Fantastic storytelling. Horrifying reality. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
Darwin's Nightmare

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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

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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