For almost two decades Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has captivated audiences with his unique brand of brutally hypnotic filmmaking. Brandishing a highly stylised and effortlessly cool trademark, only matched, and often surpassed by his visceral penchant for ultra-violence, Refn has slowly but surely carved a path through World and Hollywood cinema. From his infamous Pusher trilogy which established not only Refn but long-time collaborator, and star of TV’s fearlessly dark, Hannibal, Mads Mikklesen, to 2008’s bizarre yet brilliant Bronson setting the stage for Tom Hardy’s new blockbuster hard-man persona. Though it was the release of 2011’s Drive which blasted a Ryan Gosling shaped hole into the cinematic mainstream, accelerating both Winding Refn and his new muse to the oxymoronic status of cult provocateurs and multiplex crowd pleasers. To celebrate Refn and Gosling’s latest joint venture, Bangkok set revenge thriller, Only God Forgives, Refn has curated a season of his favourite and most influential films for Curzon Home Cinema. Including cuts from David Lynch, Terence Davies and Chinese auteur Wong Kar-Wai – whose sumptuous neon infused filmmaking undoubtedly influenced Only God Forgives’ overall aesthetic – Refn season is set to be a truly memorable experience for those looking to discover just why one of today’s finest and most uncompromising directors decided to hold mediocre and uninspired cinema ransom.
FILM IN WORDS 