{"id":30605,"date":"2025-07-24T22:56:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=30605"},"modified":"2025-08-02T11:44:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T15:44:39","slug":"ravens-is-an-imaginative-biopic-delivered-with-magic-realism-nyaff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=30605","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Ravens\u2019 Is An Imaginative Biopic Delivered With Magic Realism \/ NYAFF"},"content":{"rendered":"

British, film director Mark Gill \u2014 after an<\/span> Academy Award and BAFTA nomination for his 2014 short<\/span> The Voorman Problem<\/i><\/b> and after his feature debut with England Is Mine <\/i><\/b>\u2014 returns to the silver screen with an exquisite piece. Ravens<\/i><\/b> instills magic realism in a biopic about Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gill\u2019s second feature premiered at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, winning the Marquee Film Audience Award. That same year, it also screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival and is currently part of the 2025 NYAFF<\/span><\/a> line-up. The film stars Golden Globe winning actor Tadanobu Asano as the photographer whose art was heavily influenced by themes of isolation and personal tragedy. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The movie highlights the making of his seminal photographic work Karasu<\/i> (Ravens), which remains one of the most influential photo-books in history. The ingenious narrative device is that Fukase embodies the bird of prophecy with his craft, and is actually accompanied throughout the film by a raven-alter ego who acts as his conscience. If ravens were believed to connect the material world with the world of spirits, Gill\u2019s film translates this into visuals, through the conversations between a tormented human and an otherworldly creature. The mythological figure appears during Masahisa Fukase\u2019s most insecure moments and is voiced by Jose Luis Ferrer. This entity can be seen and heard only by Fukase and their symbiotic relationship is fully clarified with Fukase\u2019s 1982 statement: \u201cI have become the raven, I am the raven.<\/i>\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Ravens<\/i><\/b> is set in the later years of Masahisa Fukase\u2019s life, eviscerating his tumultuous relationships and creative struggles, as his failing marriage to Yoko causes feelings of loneliness and artistic torment. Mark Gill\u2019s exploration of suffering artists was well forged with his 2017 feature, about the early years of English singer-songwriter Morrissey. His sensibility to these themes is enhanced in Ravens<\/i><\/b>, as he approaches the complex figure of Masahisa Fukase in a somniative way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

The film does not shy away from putting in question the genius of the Japanese photographer. It doesn\u2019t glorify him. His creative brilliance is exposed, as much as his all-consuming demons. Fukase is constantly in need of validation from his father Sukezo (Kanji Furutachi), who ran a successful photo studio in Hokkaido\u2019s small town of Bifuku, and wished his son to follow in his footsteps. But young Fukase wanted to prove that \u201cphotography can be art<\/i>,\u201d becoming part of the vibrant avant-garde that flourished in post-war Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The paternal figure haunts the artist throughout his life, as his words ominously echo in his mind: \u201cIf you reached nothing by the age of forty, the honorable thing is to kill yourself.<\/i>\u201d In point of fact, the opening scene is set in 1992, when Fukase is ready to take his life precisely because he feels unaccomplished. In Ravens <\/i><\/b>it is palpable that Masahisa feels crushed by the patriarchal traditions of Japan, but only when it suits his ego. Actually, he becomes indulgent in these ideas when his wife and muse Yoko Wanibe (Kumi Takiuchi) overshadows him and he claims that \u201ca woman\u2019s place is not to embarrass her husband<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The storytelling jumps back and forth in time, travelling to the Fifties and Sixties, following his artistic growth and the blossoming romance with the aspiring classical Noh<\/i> theater actress. Yoko becomes his muse, and in order to support her ambitions he compromises his artistic integrity, working as a commercial photographer. During this time the raven acts as voice within, who scolds him for putting on hold his true aspirations by telling him \u201ca part-time dreamer is no dreamer at all<\/i>.\u201d Nevertheless his artistry breaks through the constrictions of the commercial assignments he receives. An example is given when he asks the female model, in a vacuum cleaner sales shoot, to hold the house appliance like a rock star playing a guitar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fukase eventually embarks on a rewarding artistic path that leads him to prestigious exhibitions, including MoMa in New York. However, life\u2019s circumstances plunge the artist in a boozy and hopeless existence. He comes to an understanding that his creative force is devouring him. \u201cWhatever I love, photography kills,<\/i>\u201d he says. The reviews about his pictures, in hindsight, could be applied to his \u201coccult taste for the dark and the frightening.<\/i>\u201d His style seems to pre-determine a life of affliction. Gill stages this very well, by showing Fukase surrounded by clutter and chaos, as if he were holding a mirror up to his nihilistic mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

When all is lost he returns to his family in Hokkaido. Instead of finally finding peace, his life comes to a jarring halt when he hits his head and is hospitalised. This defines his gloomy destiny for the rest of his days.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> heterogenous<\/span> score reinforces the discombobulation of the artist, featuring the Koto Song<\/i> by Dave Brubeck; Hey Chance!<\/i> by Takeshi Terauchi and The Bunnys; The Cure\u2019s Pictures Of You<\/i>; the Velvet Underground & Nico\u2019s I\u2019ll Be Your Mirror<\/i> and Venus in Fur<\/i>. Whilst, the cinematography by Fernando Ruiz contributes to nourishing the dreary mood of this dark fantasy. Ravens<\/i><\/b> is much more than a simple biographical drama. Mark Gill presents an existential filmic reflection, inspired by true events. <\/span><\/p>\n

Final Grade: B+<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out more of Chiara\u2019s articles<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo Credits: \u00a9 Vestapol Films, Ark Entertainment, Minded Factory, Y house, Katsize Films<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n