Nicolas Winding Refn

The name of Nicolas Winding Refn is unknown to many casual movie fans. But that's about to change very soon. Refn is a Danish director who just recently made the transition to American films. He was awarded the best director prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for his gritty action flick "Drive". And presently, he's filming a low-budget revenge thriller entitled "Only God Forgives". "Drive" is undoubtedly a personal favorite of mine. It is a very stylish film that certainly placed Refn on the road to stardom. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as a quiet stunt driver/mechanic who moonlights as a getaway driver in L.A. He falls in love with a single mother and risks everything to protect her from the local mob. Despite its conventional plotline, the film is quite unique and equally compelling due to Refn's unusual choices. It plays almost like a modern day fairy tale with sudden bursts of ultra-violence and a thriving 80'-s inspired soundtrack.

The American poster ad for Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive".

Refn had previously made independent films in his native country. He also directed "Bronson", a critically-acclaimed stylized drama based on the life of a real-life British prisoner. The movie not only showcased the immeasurable talent of actor Tom Hardy, but proved to be a spiritual successor to Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange". I saw the film after I watched "Drive" and immediately recognized a re-occuring theme in Refn's work: transformation. Both films deal with men who slowly change into a diffrerent kind of character. For "Drive", it is about a psychotic man who becomes a hero, and "Bronson" tells the story of a normal person who mentally disintegrates. Of the two, "Bronson" is certainly the darker tale; at times it has the feel of an "underground" movie. While "Drive" combines the asthetics of a 70's road rage flick with the artistic sensibility of a 1980's Michael Mann film. It goes without saying that Refn is a visionary director that pushes the boundaries of the genre.



The critically-acclaimed "Bronson" was based on the life of "Charlie Bronson", a notorious British criminal.


Although I've only seen two of the director's films, I'm already a major fan. Refn is an extremely talented and profilic director. He has made films about the Danish criminal underworld (the "Pusher" trilogy) as well as "Valhalla Rising", a tale about a Nordic warrior who escapes from his Viking captors in the year 1000 A.D. His next film, "Only God Forgives", re-teams him with Ryan Gosling and is set in the world of Thai-boxing. But their third film project will undoubtedly launch Refn into the Hollywood stratosphere. It will be a remake of the 1976 sci-fi cult film "Logan's Run". The movie will be financed by Warner Bros. and Refn has said it will have a budget of around $200 million. If he can be allowed to flex his artistic muscles with the film, Refn will most likely be compared to his contemporary Christopher Nolan (director of "Inception"). I, for one, cannot wait for his next film.


The first photo image from "Only God Forgives" features a very intense Ryan Gosling.