The Man Who Saw Too Much (Spanish: El hombre que vio demasiado) is a 2015 Mexican documentary film written, directed and co-produced by Trisha Ziff.[2] It explores the life and work of Enrique Metinides, one of the great sensationalist photographers of the 20th century, characterized by portraying scenes of murders, crashes, accidents, suicides, fires, and disasters in Mexico City.[3] It won the Ariel Award for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Score at the 58th Ariel Awards.[4]
| The Man Who Saw Too Much | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Trisha Ziff |
| Written by | Trisha Ziff |
| Produced by | Trisha Ziff Alan Suárez |
| Starring | Enrique Metinides[1] |
| Cinematography | Felipe Perez-Burchard |
| Edited by | Pedro G. García |
| Music by | Rodrigo Garibay |
Production companies | 212 Berlin Films Wabi Productions Arte Mecánica Producciones |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
Synopsis
When an accident occurs, all the people run to browse, the bigger and more spectacular the incident, the greater the number of people, as the photos of Enrique Metinides show. This documentary will delve into the life and work of this photojournalist, thanks to family testimonies and former colleagues we will discover what Metinides' working life was like, portraying traffic accidents, corpses, murderers, severed bodies, tragedies such as explosions, fires, going through the earthquake from 1985 with the iconic photograph of the collapsed Regis Hotel, but also his human side of how he helped injured children into ambulances.[5][6]
Release
The Man Who Saw Too Much had its world premiere in mid-October 2015 at the Morelia International Film Festival.[7] It had its commercial premiere on June 16, 2017, in Mexican theaters.[8][9]
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10.[10]
James Young from Variety points out that the documentary adequately delves into the story of Enrique Metinides, although sometimes it runs out of references or visual material, it manages to remain relentless and serene to show the universe of artisanal and photographic pain.[11] Arturo Magaña from Cine Premiere calls this film a fantastic story that deserves to be seen and that is capable of building a character whose journalistic and photographic work was recognized, becoming a sample of the Mexican idiosyncrasy.[12]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Morelia International Film Festival | Press Warrior Award | Trisha Ziff | Won | [13][14] |
| 2016 | Ibero-American Documentary Memory Festival | Best Ibero-American Documentary | Won | [13] | |
| Monterrey International Film Festival | Best Mexican Feature Film Documentary | Won | [15] | ||
| Ariel Award | Best Documentary Feature | Won | [16] | ||
| Best Original Score | Jacobo Lieberman | Won | |||
| 2017 | Canacine Awards | Best Director | Trisha Ziff | Nominated | [17] |
| Best Documentary Feature | Won | [18] |
