Ravens

There's so much hyperbole surrounding anything in a society obsessed with reviews. But I really do think this is the most beautifully shot film I've ever seen. There are no throwaway shots, no fillers through coverage, just relentless beauty artfully employed in serving a complicated plot. The acting meets the cinematography, presenting a kind of restraint predictable for a Japan-set film but doing so in a way that allows the emotion to resonate throughout. Mark Gill, the director, took a lot of artistic risks in how he presented the story of this famed, troubled photographer, and they pretty much all paid off.