James Ravilious: A World in Pictures (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Touching portrayal of the man and the environment he photographed.

[bridges-wj · 9/10 · 3 December 2011]

Beautifully shot and lovingly crafted this doc gives you a real sense of time and place, Ravilious captured a world in decline, the disappearing traditions of a rural community, and it's this idea that is so brilliantly commented on in this film. But it's also more than that, this is a film that isn't so much about a photographer and how he saw the world but more about the man himself and how the people he photographed saw him. The film is peppered with touching anecdotes about James from the people he photographed, it's refreshingly more of a love letter to the man rather than his work.

If you're looking for a dry, technical account of James Ravilious' work (like the other review on here) then this isn't for you, perhaps you should go to the library, or a gallery showing his work (the Beaford Archive).

Disappointingly dull film

[bob the moo · 4 December 2007]

Shown as part of BBC4's season of programmes about photography, this film deals with the work of Cornish photographer James Ravilious. I could not have told you this before watching but Ravilious was famous for capturing rural life in Cornwall – specifically aspects that were gradually dying away as the farming community become more industrial. This did interest me but after watching the film I did wonder who it was aimed at.

The film is mostly taken up with Ravilious' photographs interspersed with comments from the subjects thereof many years later. This approach confused me as it seemed to offer nothing more than a collection of his work. This was visually interesting but then why not just do that and drop the interjections from the subjects because mostly they add little of value. Alternatively the film could have gone to the other side and instead have focused more on the stories behind the photographs – however the comments are not enough to take it this direction either. So in the end what are we left with? Well, the casual viewer looking to be informed will see some striking images and for this maybe it is worth it, but I didn't get an understanding of why the work was important. Similarly those familiar with his photographs may well wonder why they are spending 30 minutes looking at images they are already very well acquainted with but not provided with anything new in the shape of insight or interest.

Bennett's narration is surprisingly flat and it is disappointing to hear such a talent with so little to say – hell, his diaries are interesting even on dull days. Maybe it is because of how short the film is but I didn't think it understood what it wanted to do. If it was just a slide show then it should have spent longer on the images, but even as a casual viewer I wanted it to give me more – why are these images important, what was he capturing and how has it changed. As it is the film offers very little more than you could get in a book of Ravilious' work and was a disappointment.