only god forgives (2013). directed by nicolas winding refn.

first of all, viewers must know that refn doesn't do regular hollywood stuff. this film lasted for 1 hour 25 minutes, and i feel like i was dreaming the entire time. it's surreal, shot in colours not found in harsh real life but that doesn't mean the dream is any less violent. i recalled david lynch in particular. the movie follows ryan gosling, as the drug dealer in the seedy muay thai hole in bangkok. he seems emotionless, lacking the will to do anything - to confront his mother's insult, to avenge his brother's death, to fight against the police who his hunting him down. perhaps it is his reaction to an environment of extremes - it's better not to feel anything in order to remain unaffected. 

bronson (2008). directed by nicolas winding refn.

after watching several hollywood movies back to back, i was relieved that i finally got to watch something different. i don't know if bronson market itself as a dark comedy, because i was giggling at 1am, at the absurdity of bronson. the guys is stark raving mad. he could be schizophrenic. who in their right mind would pick fights in prison knowing that your stay would be prolonged, and solitary confinement at that?

the good thing about this movie is that director nicolas winding refn doesn't take a linear approach to tell the story. bronson is obviously crazy and suffer from delusion of grandiose, to the point of creating an alter ego called charles bronson because "i want to be famous". tom hardy as bronson is compelling to watch, he brings realism and bestiality to the character. he lacks control and operates by a different logic that is not normal like other people. 

i doubt this movie works for everyone - there's nudity, too much violance, and chaos. but we do need different things, once in a while. 

drive (2011). directed by nicolas winding refn.

he reminds me of travis bickle from taxi driver (1976). this is a violent world, the city that eats from the inside out, he rolls into town unnamed with no history, he drives through the city alone looking for something that shocked him, and he found none. the thing that pulled him back into the familiar territory of feelings is a single mother with a boy, who is patiently waiting for her husband to return home from prison. she is his next door neighbour. 

the girl next door. 

he hangs around the married woman, he relished being the step in father figure to the boy. he enjoyed the vague notion of having a family, people he has to look after, a woman who loves him. he who lives from one hotel room to another, living out of a suitcase. that is the whole world to him, or used to be. for once - he understood why people have families. this is happiness. 

but it is only wishful thinking. it all ends when the husband returns and got all of them in a bandwagon of very, very bad people. instead of fighting for her love, he stepped away. he helped her husband, vaguely knowing this ain't going to end well. from where does this self-righteousness comes from? 

anyone who can turn ryan gosling into a raging maniac that walks around town in a bloody white jacket with a fist or a hammer ready to strike deserves a round of applause. i love the shots taken in the movie, the whole 1980's vibe is permeating the atmosphere right from the start, like credits written in bright pink. i like the simple story line that tightly bounds the characters in this universe of violence. i am impressed that the director didnt even try to distract the story with cheap sex scenes and focused on gosling's character as a man who is looking for something bigger than himself. 

i must say, so far this is the only movie that i can rate as good. i like it for all the right reasons - because it is a good movie worth spending time and buying tickets for.