Ravens (2024 film)

Last updated
Ravens
Directed by Mark Gill
Written byMark Gill
Produced by
  • Orian Williams
  • Cyril Cadars
  • Mark Gill
  • Megumi Ishii
  • Hideki Kawamura
  • David Barrera
  • Johanna Horn
  • Henry Gillet
Starring
CinematographyFernando Ruiz
Edited by
  • Chika Konishi
  • Frank Moderna
Music by
  • Paul Lay
  • Théophile Moussouni
Release date
  • October 30, 2024 (2024-10-30)
(TIFF)
CountriesFrance, UK, Japan, Spain, Belgium
LanguageJapanese

Ravens is a 2024 Japanese-language British biographical drama film written and directed by Mark Gill. The film explores the life and work of the acclaimed Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase, whose art was heavily influenced by themes of isolation and personal tragedy.

Contents

Plot

Set in the later years of Masahisa Fukase's life, the film delves into his tumultuous relationships and creative struggles. It highlights the making of his seminal photographic work, Karasu ("Ravens"), which remains one of the most influential photobooks in history. The narrative weaves between his personal life, his failing marriage to Yoko, and his reflections on loneliness and artistic obsession.

Cast

Production

The film was directed and written by Mark Gill, with a score composed by Paul Lay and Théophile Moussouni. Cinematography was handled by Fernando Ruiz, and editing was done by Chika Konishi and Frank Moderna.

Release

The film was screened at Tokyo International Film Festival 2024 [1] and won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival. [2] "Ravens" was also selected for the 2024 edition of the Red Sea Film Festival. [3]

Reception

The film received positive reviews by Variety [4] and Indie Cinema Magazine. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Gakuryu Ishii, formerly known as Sogo Ishii, is a Japanese filmmaker known for his stylistic punk films, which helped spark the cyberpunk movement in Japan. A number of contemporary filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino have cited Ishii's films as an influence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tadanobu Asano</span> Japanese actor (born 1973)

Tadanobu Satō better known by his stage name Tadanobu Asano is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and three times for Best Supporting Actor, and winner of its Most Popular Performer award.

<i>Bright Future</i> (film) 2003 Japanese film

Bright Future is a 2003 Japanese drama film written, directed, and edited by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Tadanobu Asano, Joe Odagiri and Tatsuya Fuji. It was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Last Life in the Universe</i> 2003 Thai film

Last Life in the Universe is a 2003 Thai romantic crime film directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The film is notable for being trilingual; the two main characters flit from Thai to Japanese to English as their vocabulary requires. The film stars Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak.

<i>Café Lumière</i> 2003 Japan, Taiwan film

Café Lumière is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien for Shochiku as homage to Yasujirō Ozu, with direct reference to the late director's Tokyo Story (1953). It premiered at a festival commemorating the centenary of Ozu's birth. It was nominated for Golden Lion at the 2004 Venice Film Festival. The film, with an all-Japanese cast, is set in Tokyo, where it was shot.

<i>Electric Dragon 80.000 V</i> 2001 film by Gakuryū Ishii

Electric Dragon 80.000 V is a 2001 Japanese tokusatsu film written and directed by Gakuryū Ishii. The comic-book style story stars Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase as electricity wielding super-heroes.

<i>Survive Style 5+</i> 2004 film directed by Gen Sekiguchi

Survive Style 5+ is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Gen Sekiguchi and produced by Hiroyuki Taniguchi. It stars Tadanobu Asano, Kyōko Koizumi, Reika Hashimoto, Jai West, Sonny Chiba and Vinnie Jones.

<i>Zatōichi</i> (2003 film) 2003 Japanese film by Takeshi Kitano

Zatoichi is a 2003 Japanese jidaigeki action film, directed, written, co-edited by and starring Takeshi Kitano in his eleventh directorial venture. Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman, with Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, and Akira Emoto in supporting roles.

Masahisa Fukase was a Japanese photographer, celebrated for his work depicting his domestic life with his wife Yōko Wanibe and his regular visits to his parents' small-town photo studio in Hokkaido. He is best known for his 1986 book Karasu, which in 2010 was selected by the British Journal of Photography as the best photobook published between 1986 and 2009. Since his death in 2012 there has been a revival of interest in Fukase's photography, with new books and exhibitions appearing that emphasize the breadth and originality of his art.

<i>Tokyo Zombie</i>

Tokyo Zombie is a heta-uma horror manga written in 1999 by Yusaku Hanakuma. It was subsequently made into a 2005 Japanese film written and directed by Sakichi Sato. The films stars Tadanobu Asano, Show Aikawa, and Erika Okuda. The film was released in North America, UK and later Australia and New Zealand in 2009.

<i>47 Ronin</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

47 Ronin is a 2013 American historical fantasy action film directed by Carl Rinsch in his sole theatrical directorial effort. Written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini from a story conceived by Morgan and Walter Hamada, the film is a work of Chūshingura, a fictionalized account of the forty-seven rōnin, a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their daimyō Asano Naganori by battling his rival Kira Yoshinaka. Starring Keanu Reeves in the lead role along with Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi and Ko Shibasaki, the film bears little resemblance to its historical basis compared to previous adaptations, and instead serves as a stylized interpretation set "in a world of witches and giants."

<i>Kabei: Our Mother</i> 2008 Japanese film

Kabei: Our Mother is a 2008 Japanese film starring Sayuri Yoshinaga and directed by Yoji Yamada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekai no Owari</span> Japanese pop band

Sekai no Owari is a Japanese pop band from Tokyo. The band was formed in 2005 and has four members: Nakajin, Fukase, Saori, and DJ Love.

<i>A Terminal Trust</i> 2012 Japanese film

A Terminal Trust is a 2012 Japanese drama film directed by Masayuki Suo and starring Tamiyo Kusakari, Kōji Yakusho, Tadanobu Asano and Takao Osawa. It is Suo's first fiction film since I Just Didn't Do It (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Gill</span> English screenwriter and film director

Mark Gill is an English screenwriter and film director. He is from Stretford in Manchester.

<i>Journey to the Shore</i> 2015 film

Journey to the Shore is a 2015 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Tadanobu Asano and Eri Fukatsu. It is adapted from Kazumi Yumoto's novel Kishibe no Tabi. It screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where Kurosawa won the prize for Best Director. It was released in Japan on 1 October 2015.

<i>Minamata</i> (film) 2020 drama film

Minamata is a 2020 biographical drama film directed by Andrew Levitas, based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith. The film stars Johnny Depp as W. Eugene Smith, an American photographer who documented the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2022, by Samuel Goldwyn Films. At the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, the film ranked third place in the Oscars Fan Favorite contest.

<i>Labyrinth of Cinema</i> 2019 Japanese film

Labyrinth of Cinema is a 2019 Japanese anti-war fantasy drama film written, produced, directed and edited by Nobuhiko Obayashi. It stars Takuro Atsuki, Takahito Hosoyamada and Yoshihiko Hosoda as three present-day Onomichi moviegoers who find themselves transported back to 1945, just prior to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The cast also includes Rei Yoshida, Riko Narumi, Hirona Yamazaki and Takako Tokiwa.

<i>The Box Man</i> (film) 2024 Japanese film by Gakuryū Ishii

The Box Man is a 2024 Japanese drama film directed by Gakuryū Ishii. The film is adaptation of 1973 eponymous novel by Japanese author Kōbō Abe. It is surreal story in which a cardboard box becomes the perfect shell for men who want to withdraw from society, and gaze without being seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">37th Tokyo International Film Festival</span> 2024 film festival

The 37th Tokyo International Film Festival took place from 28 October to 6 November. This edition, introduced a new 'Women's Empowerment' section and showcased the works of director Yu Irie, a Japanese film director and screenwriter in its 'Nippon Cinema Now' strand. Hong Kong actor and singer Tony Leung will serve as jury president.

References

  1. "Nippon Cinema Now - Ravens". TIFF.
  2. "Mark Gill's RAVENS wins Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival". The Agency.
  3. "Johnny Depp's 'Modi' & Robbie Williams Biopic 'Better Man' Head To Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Fest With Karim Shenawy's 'The Tale Of Daye's Family' Set As Opener". Deadline.
  4. "'Ravens' Review: 'Shogun' Star Tadanobu Asano Plays Celebrated Photographer Masahisa Fukase in a Fascinating Biopic". Variety.
  5. "A Raven in Tokyo: How Mark Gill Captured the Troubled Genius of Masahisa Fukase". Indie Cinema Magazine.