Some thoughts on Only God Forgives and Upstream Colour
This is the first of a couple of micro-posts about films I've watched recently. Don't really have too much time to commit to a full-blown analysis but I wanted to put down some thoughts.
The first one is something that received quite mixed reviews from critics: Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives. You may know the director from his previous film Drive, which never caught on with mainstream audiences (as evidence by a poor CinemaScore of C-). Critic reviews were positive however and I personally thought it was an engaging movie with great visuals and a kick ass soundtrack (my first exposure to Italo Disco). I thought it was pretty accessible but apparently a lot of people thought it was quite alienating and a little too artsy. If mainstream audiences thought that about Drive I'm really not surprised they strongly disliked Only God Forgives. It pretty much amplified all the elements of Drive that made it distinct from the regular 'action movie': the long shots, minimalist dialogue, deliberate pacing, long silences sharply cut with brutal violence. I imagine these same 'auteur' elements also made the film a bit difficult or frustrating for the viewer.
Anyway, I really didn't mind it. My impression of it was positive but I'll accept that it may be subject to a few biases. First, I have a fondness for Bangkok, which was were the movie is set. Refn presented it as a sort of dreamlike grimy neon wasteland which I thought was very appropriate. I thought it was almost magical realist/inoffensively Orientalist in its visual portrayal of the city and relationship of foreign expats to Thai locals. Second bias is that I sort of knew what was getting into, I had read some reviews beforehand so I had managed my expectations. Third, as someone whose favourite film was once 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have spent a good amount of time spent watching glacially-paced films and documentaries.
Now independent of those qualifications, here's a couple reasons why I liked it:
Trailer is below.
The first one is something that received quite mixed reviews from critics: Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives. You may know the director from his previous film Drive, which never caught on with mainstream audiences (as evidence by a poor CinemaScore of C-). Critic reviews were positive however and I personally thought it was an engaging movie with great visuals and a kick ass soundtrack (my first exposure to Italo Disco). I thought it was pretty accessible but apparently a lot of people thought it was quite alienating and a little too artsy. If mainstream audiences thought that about Drive I'm really not surprised they strongly disliked Only God Forgives. It pretty much amplified all the elements of Drive that made it distinct from the regular 'action movie': the long shots, minimalist dialogue, deliberate pacing, long silences sharply cut with brutal violence. I imagine these same 'auteur' elements also made the film a bit difficult or frustrating for the viewer.
Anyway, I really didn't mind it. My impression of it was positive but I'll accept that it may be subject to a few biases. First, I have a fondness for Bangkok, which was were the movie is set. Refn presented it as a sort of dreamlike grimy neon wasteland which I thought was very appropriate. I thought it was almost magical realist/inoffensively Orientalist in its visual portrayal of the city and relationship of foreign expats to Thai locals. Second bias is that I sort of knew what was getting into, I had read some reviews beforehand so I had managed my expectations. Third, as someone whose favourite film was once 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have spent a good amount of time spent watching glacially-paced films and documentaries.
Now independent of those qualifications, here's a couple reasons why I liked it:
- The shots were great. I found myself thinking it was almost like watching a dark take on a Wes Anderson movie, it definitely had that same focus on symmetry and elaborately staged shots. Great use of colour and visual textures. If I had to use one word to describe it: ornamental.
- Sound editing/design was great. Soundtrack was good. The movie was very stimulating on a purely sensory level.
- The static close-ups lingering the faces of some of the characters had a documentary quality to them. Reminded me a lot of Samsara (2011).
Trailer is below.
The second movie I watched was Shane Carruth's second feature after Primer, Upstream Color. I'll admit right now that absolutely loved this movie. I thought it was visually arresting, it sounds incredible (an amazing use of ambient and natural noise to serve as a soundtrack), and the story was simultaneously weird-as-shit yet emotionally poignant. Just overall such an insanely creative movie and I'm amazed that Shane Carruth wrote and directed it. I don't even really understand how someone could come up with and so effectively execute this movie. It seems like one of those things that would originally be a book that everyone says would be 'completely unfilmable'.
Without spoiling it, it's a bit difficult to describe. There's definitely not a lot of hand-holding in terms of exposition either (which I find is always refreshing). It's a metaphysical romance movie with strong almost Tree of Life/Terence Malick sort of aesthetic. I'd argue it was even better than Tree Of Life, which I also enjoyed, so if you're a fan of that then I expect you'd really enjoy this. I'm tempted to do a more in-depth thematic analysis of the movie some time later. It really would warrant it. I'm definitely going to grab the soundtrack from iTunes at least.
If you're looking for a movie that's not so formulaic and a bit out there, I'd strongly recommend these two films (with the caveats I mentioned re: Only God Forgives).
Trailer is below.
Without spoiling it, it's a bit difficult to describe. There's definitely not a lot of hand-holding in terms of exposition either (which I find is always refreshing). It's a metaphysical romance movie with strong almost Tree of Life/Terence Malick sort of aesthetic. I'd argue it was even better than Tree Of Life, which I also enjoyed, so if you're a fan of that then I expect you'd really enjoy this. I'm tempted to do a more in-depth thematic analysis of the movie some time later. It really would warrant it. I'm definitely going to grab the soundtrack from iTunes at least.
If you're looking for a movie that's not so formulaic and a bit out there, I'd strongly recommend these two films (with the caveats I mentioned re: Only God Forgives).
Trailer is below.