Nicolas Winding Refn's return to feature filmmaking has met with mixed reviews, though our own Kurt Halfyard had a different reading: "The director is far more interested in mise-en-scène still-lives over coherent storytelling in his latest film. ... It is right there in the title. Her Private Hell is a trauma-infused fever dream, for which we never really meet any of the characters outside of the narrator's anxious mind."
In view of the director's career over the past 30 years, Her Private Hell certainly merits individual consideration. Neon will release it in North American cities this weekend; visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
Now is a good time to become enmeshed in the director's striking career, from hard-bitten street dramas to lavish fantasies. We recommend starting with his own streaming site, By NWR, which includes "The Refn Catalogue" (all his films, available only for viewers in Scandinavia, and selected shorts), as well as a selection of genre films that are available to rent in North America, such as Paul Morissey's Flesh for Frankenstein, several by Ulli Lommel, and a slew of others, dating back to the 1950s.
Born in Denmark in 1970, Refn moved to New York with his mother and stepfather when he was a teenager in the 1980s and "having received much of his film education in the 1980s at New York's declining grindhouses, he was drawn less to European art film ('the correct cinema,' as he put it) than to the grunge and gore of exploitation movies," per an interview published in The New York Times in 2009. That was certainly reflected in his debut feature, made after he moved back to Denmark.
Pusher (1996)
Now streaming on Magnolia Selects.
Our review by our founder Todd Brown: "Nicolas Winding Refn's debut film caused quite a stir in his native Denmark on its release in 1996 and for good reason. Pusher is a grim, stylish look at Copenhagen's seamy underbelly, an aspect of Danish culture not often explored, and with its richly complex characters, stunningly intimate cinematography and style to burn it was a brash, confident debut that marked the explosion of a huge new talent onto the scene.
"But hold up a second ... if Pusher was made in 1996 why is it screening at a 2005 film festival? Simple enough ... over the past year Refn has revisited his cast of characters to generate not one but two sequels to the original film and in the process created a trilogy of crime films that rank amongst the world's very best. Knowing a good thing when they see it the Toronto Film Festival programmers have brought the entire trilogy over and are screening them back to back to back for the cost of a single admission. Mark my words: this is the best ticket of the entire festival."
Bleeder (1999)
The film is only available in Scandinavia.
Todd Brown commented: "In the wake of Pusher's enormous commercial and critical success, Winding Refn found himself in something of an odd predicament: though the film's creative team had clearly enjoyed the experience of working together and wanted to do so again, sequels were viewed as somewhat déclassé in Denmark at the time. So for his sophomore feature, Winding Refn tailored a script for his Pusher cast--including Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, and Zlatko Burić--echoing his first film's stylishly dark tone but setting it in a very different environment.
"Bodnia stars as Leo, a blue-collar guy in a dead-end job who descends into a vortex of self-loathing and domestic violence when he learns that his wife is pregnant; his story is paralleled with that of Lenny (Mikkelsen), a shy guy trying to work up the courage to ask out a girl who works at a local bar. A bleak, brutal powerhouse of a film that has remained too little seen in North America, Bleeder darkly demonstrates that even rock-bottom can always get just that little bit worse."
Our own Theodoor Steen discussed Refn's early career (and evolution as a filmmaker) in an article published earlier this month: "The early Refn, who dabbled in the realm of trash and fetish, but hadn't truly found that singular voice yet, is present in his first music video. The one for Bleeder's Psycho Power (below). Refn by then was already a cult director in his home country of Denmark, hence the music video being released on home video there, which was a rarity even then." Check out Theodoor's excellent article for more about two music videos by Refn.
Fear X (2003)
Now streaming on Prime Video.
Mini-review by Todd Brown: "Having conquered Denmark with his first two films, Winding Refn confidently set out to conquer the rest of the world, pouring his own money into his English-language debut--but the film very nearly conquered him instead. Based on the first original screenplay written by acclaimed/notorious novelist Hubert Selby, Jr. (Last Exit to Brooklyn), Fear X stars John Turturro as mall cop Harry Cain, who is struggling to unravel his wife's murder without unravelling himself.
"Obsessively studying the surveillance-video footage that he believes holds the key to the identity of the killer, Harry becomes convinced that a decorated local cop (James Remar) and his sullen wife (Deborah Kara Unger) have crucial information about the case, sparking a deadly three-way game of cat and mouse. Winding Refn brings a hallucinatory, almost Lynchian feel to the film, progressively blurring the lines between reality and dream, which may have contributed to its dismal commercial and critical performance. Fear X sank like a stone upon its US release two years after its Sundance premiere, and very nearly ruined Winding Refn financially in the process; thankfully, it has started to be rediscovered following the director's later successes."
Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands (2004)
Now streaming on Magnolia Selects.
Todd Brown goes further on this sequel: "Reeling (some would say humbled) by the failure of Fear X, Winding Refn did what many a filmmaker has done in pursuit of a financial fix: he sequelized a prior success, churning out Pusher II and III back to back. But far from a quick, low-grade cash-in, the Pusher sequels stand as some of the strongest work in Winding Refn's entire filmography, expanding the universe of the original film to create a panoramic portrait of the Copenhagen underworld.
"In Pusher II, the focus shifts from Kim Bodnia's Frank to his former sidekick Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen), who, a few years after the events of the previous film, is heading home after a stint in prison. Things go from bad to bloody as Tonny desperately attempts to win the approval of his crime-lord father (Leif Sylvester) while coming to terms with the fact that he has become a father himself. (For those wishing to indulge in a little armchair analysis of the director, it's pertinent to note that Winding Refn had himself become a new father at the time.) As raw and muscular as its predecessor, Pusher II also packs an unexpectedly emotional wallop thanks to Mikkelsen, who gives an absolutely searing performance as a man despairing over the gap between what he is and what he wants to be."
Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death (2005)
Now streaming on Magnolia Selects.
Todd Brown, again, brilliantly: "In the third and final entry of the Pusher trilogy, Winding Refn shifts focus once again: our "hero" this time out is aging Serbian drug lord Milo (Zlatko Burić), who is struggling to maintain his business against encroachments by younger rivals while planning his daughter's birthday party and indulging in his fondness for cookery.
"When all of his henchmen get food poisoning from one of his specially prepared gourmet meals, Milo is forced to rely upon a cocky young drug dealer to help him move a huge shipment of ecstasy; betrayals and bloody retribution naturally ensue. The most overtly violent of the Pusher films, this third outing is also the most unexpectedly comic thanks to the magnetic charisma and off-kilter humour of Burić's Milo, who is oddly endearing for a man capable of such extreme violence."
Bronson (2008)
Now streaming on Prime Video. Note: Leaving July 29 (next week).
Todd Brown's words again: "Winding Refn made his second English-language feature after the disastrous Fear X with this bruising biopic of infamous British convict Michael Peterson--better known by his 'fighting name,' Charles Bronson--who has spent nearly his entire life in prison (and over thirty years in solitary confinement) for his gleeful, headline-grabbing violence against guards, fellow cons, and anybody unlucky enough to get within his reach.
"As stylishly nasty as any of the director's films, Bronson is also Winding Refn's most intriguing fusion of exploitation-flick content and art-house technique, as our hulking, mustachioed and bullet-headed anti-hero narrates his own story via outlandishly Brechtian straight-to-camera address. A near-perfect collision of form and content, replete with some of Winding Refn's most brilliant stylistic flourishes--particularly the brutal opening sequence scored to Scott Walker's eerie 'The Electrician' and the bonkers, Magritte-quoting finale--Bronson also features a magnetic performance by Tom Hardy, who plays the title role to the hilt and then some."
Valhalla Rising (2009)
Now streaming on By NWR, only in Scandanivia.
Once more, with feeling, by Todd Brown: "Shot back-to-back with Bronson, this hypnotic, Kubrick-quoting Viking epic reunited Winding Refn with his Pusher star Mads Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen plays a mysterious, mute warrior known only as One-Eye (for obvious reasons), who escapes from pit-fighting servitude with the help of a young slave boy after taking the time to neatly disembowel his captor with his bare hands.
"Wandering the harsh and forbidding landscape, One-Eye and the boy meet a group of Christians who compel them to join their crusade across the oceans to convert the pagan masses. After a long, arduous voyage across a fog-enshrouded and becalmed sea, the pilgrims finally reach foreign shores--but is this a Promised Land or a Hell? Cryptic, beautifully shot and creepily atmospheric, Valhalla Rising shows Winding Refn at his most instinctual, crafting a film that is less a conventional narrative than an immersive, purely sensory experience that perplexes and rewards in equal measure."
Ahead of the release of Refn's next film, we published an extensive interview with him, conducted by Paolo Gilli, that went very, very deep -- seriously, set aside some quiet time to read it all -- into his influences and experiences up to that point.
Perhaps his most widely released and profitable, in relation to its budget, Drive made a big splash in North America, and around the world.
Drive (2011)
Now available to buy or rent on a variety of VOD services.
Our Festivals Editor Ryland Aldrich saw the film at the Los Angeles Film Festival: "One thing was made ridiculously clear at LA Film Fest's North American premiere of Nicolas Refn's Cannes hit Drive last night: We have a serious talent on our hands. For many accomplished ScreenAnarchy readers this might seem pretty obvious. We've loved his work from the Pusher Trilogy through Bronsonand Valhalla Rising. But for most American audiences, this new Danish kid is about to invade your multiplexes and start kicking ass."
We also published a review by Matthew Lee, as well as a Blue-ray review by Charles Webb, not to forget another review by Hugo Ozman.
After the success of Drive, Refn could have made mainstream, straightfoward genre fare. Instead, he leaned harder into a direction that was foreshadowed, to some extent, by both Bronson and Valhalla Rising.
To celebrate his next film, we featured the director in a series of interviews and features that we called 5 Days of Refn.
Ben Umstead recounted time spent with Refn at a gun range in Austin, Texas: "That's when I get the call: Do I want to fire guns with that film's director Nicolas Winding Refn and his composer Cliff Martinez? I pause. I've never fired a gun before. Heck, being raised in a pacifist-liberal household of educators I've never even picked up a gun that doesn't resemble something from Star Wars. Well, if I'm going to take up firearms it might as well be with the man behind the fever dream operas of violence that are Bronson and Valhalla Rising, plus a former drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also: I'm in Texas. Okay, then, I'm doing this. I have fifteen minutes to get back to the hotel. I stop walking. I run. ...
"Standing on the gun range, Refn has chosen to fire the AK-47 first. He lets off a succession of short bursts. His large, but lean frame takes the brunt of the kickback of the blistering firearm with a crackling shiver. Standing a few feet behind and to the left of him, I involuntarily jump a half inch off the ground every time he pulls the trigger. 5 shots, 100 yards. Refn brings in his target. We all gather around to see how well he's done. 'I killed the motherfucker!' he declares with a flash of boyish glee."
Patrick Holzapfel considered "Destroyed Faces in the Cinema of Nicolas Winding Refn": "In the films of Nicolas Winding Refn, the real heroes often exist as mere phantoms on the soundtrack. His protagonists on screen are morally ambivalent and emotionally disturbed figures with a strong tendency towards violence. Refn shies away from subtle direction, visualizing his idea of the faceless actor by simply destroying what they normally live for: Their expression."
Ryland Aldrich dared to ask: "We asked Nicolas Winding Refn to name twelve classics he is sorry to say he has yet to see. A self-described cineaste, Refn had few exclusions that only God would forgive -- but even he had a handful of gigglers. Click below to see Nicolas Winding Refn's List of Shame." (It's quite entertaining. I wonder if he's seen any of these in the past 13 years??
Having calmed down from his gun range experience, and also having seen the film, Ben Umstead talked with Ren and composer Cliff Martinez: "While we do not discuss the story of the film in detail, we do explore in-depth its themes and symbolism around religion, masculinity, motherhood, power and submission. So be warned, as certain kinds of thinkers may find spoilers ahead if they have yet to see the film."
Our founder Todd Brown also got in the fun with his marvelous article, commenting on every film, illustrated with pictures: "Violence On The Streets Of Copenhagen: An Overview Of Pre-DRIVE Refn. " I've placed several of Todd's outstanding reviews with each film above, but I could have simply re-published his article.
Ryland Aldrich took a different approach in his interview with the filmmaker, "Nicolas Winding Refn Names His Biggest Influencs and Talks Making Films Like Pornography." The article notes: "The time was perfect for a little outside-of-the-box thinking. Still, I was a bit surprised when Nicolas Winding Refn agreed to my idea of the two of us kicking back and watching a film of his choosing. To go along with my chosen theme of influences, the film was to be one that Refn considered a seminal title that had shaped him as director. ... I expected something Asian; something gritty; something particularly visually stimulating. My fingers-crossed guess was a film by Suzuki Seijin. I was even more surprised when the film turned out to be Frank Perry's famously troubled 1968 production The Swimmer, starring Burt Lancaster." (It's another wonderful conversation.)
Only God Forgives (2013)
Now streaming on Kanopy and also on Hoopla. It's also available free with ads on Tubi TV.
Ryland Aldrich put his critic/reviewer hat back on to discuss the film: "An art film disguised as another bloody crime actioner. But where Drive impressed with its taut story, Only God Forgives relies on its technical elements to bring the viewer along. Fortunately, these elements are immaculately executed, serving up one of the most impressive films of the year -- and a true feast for the senses."
Now we take a side trip to a film directed by Liv Corfixen, made during the making of Only God Forgives.
My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (2014)
Now streaming on Kanopy.
First, an interview, conducted by Michele "Izzy" Galgana: "My Life premiered to a packed audience at Fantastic Fest 2014, full of fans eager for a peek into the director's personal life. Refn and Corfexin sat down for a candid conversation on the nature of the creative personality, directing actors, bad reviews, and sexy ladies."
Our review by yours truly: "Perhaps the most appealing aspect of My Life Directed By Nicolas Winding Refn is Liv Corfixen's exploration of creativity from a domestic perspective that is in flux. Despite the fact that we, as an audience, know how Only God Forgives turns out -- love it or hate it, it's a provocative, unpredictable movie -- it's not altogether certain that Nicolas Winding Refn, Liv Corfixen, and their children will ever be the same again."
Returning to Nicolas Winding Refn himself ...
The Neon Demon (2016)
Now streaming on Prime Video.
In connection with the film, our own Ryland Aldrich sat down with the director to discuss the film itself and the art of rewriting. It's a fascinating interview, with good questions and solid answers.
Kicking things off further, Jason Gorber's review out of the Cannes Film Festival got into it: " Yet The Neon Demon is more than just a pretty thing to be admired (though it is that). Nor is it simply a darkly brooding meditation on youth, love and death mired within a new Gothicism eschewing stone and shadow for pastel lighting and glistening, austere interiors (it's that as well). Because it's Refn it is also bleakly comedic, providing a surrealism without the cost of undermining the serious, almost portentous plotting and moody performances."
Bringing a different perspective on the film, our own Lia Matthew Brown: "But first, another word on scopophilia. I admit to having an indulgent fondness for the male gaze. This is partially because (of course) I have one; and partially because for all its sinister primacy and connotations, the male gaze just seems so sweetly idiotic to me.
"As such, it's thrilling to me to see a male artist own and interrogate his own gaze with the wit and sophistication of the kind shown by Refn in The Neon Demon, pulling zero punches and giving zero fucks. I think he might think his gaze is even sillier than I do. Silly, vulgar, nearly criminal, and intensely destructive; The Neon Demon shows us how. It's a movie that has its cake, eats it too, and then walks away laughing while the audience is still trying to figure out what the fuck just happened."
Most recently, Christopher Rhoten went very deep. It's a wonderful essay, concluding "Jesse insists throughout the film that she does not want to become like the older, emptier models surrounding her; they want to become her. But in Refn's horrific fairy tale about the cult of beauty, desire always returns to consumption. And for the characters in The Neon Demon, you are what you eat."
Too Old to Die Young (2019)
All 10 episodes are now streaming on Prime Video.
Created by NWR and the great Ed Brubaker, known especially for his comic book series, including the superb noir books Criminal and Fatale, the series stars Miles Teller as Martin Jones, a crooked Los Angeles cop with an underage girlfriend (Nell Tiger Free) who goes full rogue when his past misdeeds lead him to a deadlier role with a crime group. Meanwhile, Jesus (Augusto Aguilera), who killed Martin's partner to avenge the death of his mother, goes to Mexico to hide out under the protection of a dying cartel boss, who just happens to be his uncle.
I've only ever watched the first two, 90-minute episodes, to be honest; it's a bit thick for me, and I had difficulty cohering with its vibe. This is slowly-percolating, atmospheric, stylish, and deliberately-paced. And the "surreal" description in the synopsis is only the beginning.
Official synopsis: "In one tragic night, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Martin Jones's life is blown apart, and he is forced into a deadly underground of Cartel soldiers, Yakuza assassins, and mysterious vigilantes. Soon he finds himself lost on a surreal odyssey of murder, mysticism and vengeance, as his past sins close in on him."
Copenhagen Cowboy (2023)
All six episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Again, another burst of honesty: I've not seen this in its entirety yet, even though it's been on my watchlist for three years. (?!) Silly me. I'll try to remedy that as soon as possible. It's a Danish-language series, Refn's first since Pusher 3, and features his wife and their two children in supporting roles.
The first episode finds the solemn, taciturn Miu being brought to what appears to be a house of women. Actually, it's a brothel, where Eastern European women are being kept like animals in a zoo, ruled by the ruthlessly repugnant middle-aged woman who paid for Miu to "bring her luck." The first thing she wants is to become pregnant.
The pacing is still a bit glacial, but it feels like an uptick from Too Old to Die. And Miu is a character with a seeming potential to do more; she just hasn't done it yet. (Then again, I've only watched the first episode.)
Official synopsis: "The heroine we've all been waiting for - Miu is here to show how the netherworld of Copenhagen should be run."
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.