In 1981, when Masahisa Fukase was producing his masterpiece Ravens, Guillaume Simoneau’s parents decided to adopt a family of small crows that had fallen from their nest.
In “Murder” it is precisely the symbolism of the crow that dictates the rhythm of the narration, creating continuous short circuits and being repeatedly questioned. In the images of Simoneau’s childhood, taken by his mother, the bird takes on an unusual value of intimacy, which he immediately loses in the most violent scenes, which the photographer does not sweeten in any way.
Despite the clear reference to Fukase’s Ravens, the contrast between sweetness and violence is by no means cynical here. On the contrary, it is thanks to this continuous ambivalence that the author manages to create in us an approach to energetic and cathartic nostalgia.
