Fascinating Biopic of Photographer Masahisa Fukase 

A portrait of the brilliantly gifted and deeply troubled Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase, “Ravens” is an arresting and engrossing slice of artistic life on the edge from “England Is Mine” director Mark Gill. A mix of dark fantasy and potent drama set largely in the ’60s and ’70s, Gill has fashioned his view of the turning points in Fukase’s life and career as a love triangle between the photographer; his wife and collaborator Yoko Wanibe; and Fukase’s inner demons and artistic desires, which come to startling life in the form of a giant talking raven. Starring Emmy-nominated “Shogun” actor Tadanobu Asano as the artist whose work continues to be discovered and celebrated long after his death in 2012, “Ravens” should appeal to adventurous viewers whether or not they’re familiar with Fukase.

Taking its title from a 10-year black-and-white project published to wide acclaim in 1986, “Ravens” opens with Fukase’s 1982 statement, “I have become the raven, I am the raven.” As interpreted by Gill, this raven is the manifestation of thoughts in Fukase’s troubled mind and materializes here as a human-sized creature that seeks to shame him away from what is conventional and conformist, demanding instead that he seek the risks and extremes an artist must explore in the pursuit of truth and greatness.

The bold conceit works right from the outset. Appearing in the opening scene in a dingy bar holding photographs of the young and old Fukase, the creature silently asserts himself as a central player in the story that’s about to unfold. An entity no one but Fukase can see and whom he sometimes talks to when others are present, the Raven (played by Jose Luis Ferrer under a stunning creature suit and speaking in husky English) is the conduit that brings viewers into the mind of an artist who is not always likable but is never less than interesting.  

For much of the running time, Gill’s freewheeling film…