The Sea of Ravens

One of Jean Epstein first sound films and his second examination of the traditional cultures, harsh natural surroundings and social life of the coastal communities of Brittany.

As in many of the director’s other films, the camera is entranced by the rolling and raging sea, fixating on the elemental tales of those who eke out a life on the shorelines and islands of the region. Highlighting the harshness of these lives, and working with the community, Epstein casts his ethnographic gaze on a vanishing way of life.

– Adrian Danks, Melbourne Cinémathèque co-curator