The Mexican biography/documentary “The Man Who Saw Too Much” tells the story of Enrique Metinides, a man obsessed with photographing accidents. From the start of his career to his accident, the audience follows along on the adventure of how Metinides always got the shot.
I was ecstatic to see the film. Metinides, who might be considered to be one of Mexico’s best photographers, allows the audience to catch glimpses into his hectic life as he tried to get the show that would end up in front of the newspaper.
Metinides started his career around the age of eight or nine by taking photographs of simple car accidents. He then graduated to more visually disturbing accidents. At the age of nine, his images would be published daily on the front pages of newspapers and tabloids. From shootings to decapitations, he would capture it all.
The film also featured commentary from contemporary tabloid photographers who discuss Metinides’ footsteps as the audience discovers Mexico City and its crime scenes. They talked about how graphically beautiful his shots are including a very disturbing photo of a woman cut in half by a car. The obsession with car crashes has led to a fascination that is shown through plenty of albums categorizing disaster images from all over the world. Even though he has has seen disturbing things that would make others cringe at the thought of, Metinides says that if he doesn’t do it, someone else does.
His photographs captured the eyes of plenty, but this film about his extravagant, eventful life lures the audience to like him.
Trisha Ziff did an amazing job trying to make Metinides into someone we could all respect and love. From his obsession of frogs to photographing toys in front of his photos, we couldn’t help but respect him. Each shot was vital to understanding who Metinides is and why he did what he did, while asking the question about what is too much in the media.
“The Man Who Saw Too Much” left each person at the edge of the seat as Metinides talked about saving people, risking his life to get the show and creating codes between medics and press so save the agony of the family.
The technical aspects of the documentary were phenomenal. From the soundtrack that fit each scene perfectly to the camera angles that allowed us to feel more, the film was one for the ages. No detail was useless. Close-ups allowed the audience to see his emotions, while keeping the camera on him allowed us to see him in his natural habitat.
The film did have two major flaws that I wish I could have seen more of. The first is that there were one or two commenters who did not add much to the dialogue of who Metinides is. They just praised his work. All commenters did praise his work, but they put the work into the importance of society and the role the photos had in censorship of the media and art.
The second flaw was not looking more into how after seeing so many awful things, he kept sane. His family talked about how he was already ready to leave just in case an accident occurred, which led to me wanting to know more about how his job’s role in the family. Did it affect them? How much? It is obvious that Metinides is obsessed with his job.
Overall, the film is a must-see. No matter who you are, you will be lured into the uniqueness that is Enrique Metinides, who is not a photojournalist or a journalist. Just a photographer obsessed with accidents.
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About Kimberley
I spend too much money at concerts, festivals and comedy shows. Some call me a celebrity stalker, but I consider myself a pop culture addict. I also like red carpets, television, celebrity autobiographies and Netflix. I like to pretend that Kendall Schmidt and I are best friends, and Chelsea Handler once told me that she and I were meant to be best friends. You will most likely find me at Trudy’s or on my couch trying to find a channel. Here’s my website.