Nic Refn on Ryan Gosling and "Only God Forgives": VICE Podcast 011

[@marshallscott8057]

You guys need to realize that this film is supposed to be very poetic, beautiful and interpretive. This film for me was different and far more rememberable than any Avengers movie.

[@derekgutierrezde-leon6048]

Marshall Scott preach it man 🙌

[@captjohnclark]

Super underrated film. Valhalla Rising is one of my favorite movies

[@Youcantleavethisempty01]

So glad the copier is in focus instead of Nic. Great job.

[@levisnafu]

the is the best interview i've ever seen PS: 90% of people that dont like Only God Forgives or even hate Drive dont actually know what the films are really about? Refn's films are old fashioned in a way were most films that come out today are purely for visual engagement where everything is giving to you on a silver platter...some films do have meaning but the meaning are very simple and still most people dont realize them anyway eg. Star Trek Into Darkness is about family and what you would do for them, unless you've watched it at least 5/6 times you wont know that though but Refn's films are like poetry, i'm using poetry bc last year in school we were made to analyse poems, 1st time you read it, it doesn't really mean anything or sometimes make sense at all, but when you go through it again and again, and say 'why this' 'why that' then it becomes true art and a masterpiece. Refn's films need to be watched and analysed, most people watch films once/twice and dont research about directors or influences like this interview. Hence why Refn gets stupid amounts of praise from arthouse film industries, filmmakers and people who tend to like this film have analysed it themselves THEN gets hate from normal movie goers who just want to see entertainment. PERSONALLY OGF isnt my fav film by a mile but is very interesting and smart

[@ArmyOfSickness]

Eddie michael I understand that subtle themes exist in film that may be so covert that most people won't pick up on but if you don't subscribe to that same ideology then it just may not interest you. You can just like or dislike the film as a piece of entertainment as opposed a piece ideological propaganda. e.g. Lego Movie could be interpreted to having an socialist ideology but most people reading it as that probably already subscribe to that ideology but most people will just see it as a fun entertaining movie. Summary: what you put into it, is what you get out of it. P.S. Really didn't like Only God Forgives but liked other Refn's films.

[@levisnafu]

I think Only God Forgives is interesting, and good technically (lighting, sound) but yeah I do not think it's very good on the whole, I even tried watching it recently and just didn't like it, had to switch it off

[@jondavis1234]

Refn is clearly talking too deeply for Moretti to understand.

[@Demention94]

It reminds me of when I talk to my doctor. Guy always thinks he knows everything!

[@MrTheManav]

Demention94 sometimes they don't care.

[@URIBENFILM]

This is such an intimate interview with nicolas, is a shame that VICE chooses to show off their staff working in the background. This guy is a philosopher: pay attention people!

[@JDSproducitons]

Supposedly it was improve from Ryan. His mom mentions how he was felt different when she was pregnant with him, that they wanted her to terminate, but she refused, and that she'll never understand him. I think he put his hand in the womb for that warmth. Earlier you see in the movie that a lot of his emotions are projected from his hands.

[@howell1488]

"Ego kills creativity" this man knows what he's talking about.

[@Cinemanerd14]

He's a very interesting film stylist.

[@ReBeccaRosebud9]

I love Refn. That guy interviewing him is almost struggling to get through this. It's sweet. He probably had to watch it afterwards to figure out what was going on

[@FernandoNuti]

thank god for true artists, thank you vice for this stunning interview

[@youngknight5589]

It's a pretty interesting interview about his inspiration for these films

[@BunnyMan456]

"Fear X" is actually a very good movie. Maybe it's not a Refn movie as we know them now, but it still works as a piece unto itself.

[@thirdpigeon2676]

Viggo’s speech was years in the making

[@moneyshrine]

What do you mean?

[@freshlineproductions]

Absolutely spot on! They shouldn't come in and expect the film to do the work and they sit back and take in whatever they want, you have to really think about the symbols/metaphors being sneaked in and appreciate the incredible visuals. Drive was also all about visuals there was very little dialogue compared to Hollywood action flicks. Not sure how everyone got drive but barely anybody is getting Only God Forgives.

[@okaycoward]

This dude is so strange and I totally get it.

[@ZombieRommel]

He lets your mind fill the voids. Just because he doesn't hand-hold you with mountains of dialogue doesn't mean his films lack substance. His movies are filled to the brim with visual metaphor and slight nuances. If your head is a brick you'll just get angry that you aren't being spoon-fed the plot.

[@Mario.86]

incredible interview! felt like both Refn and the interviewer were on point and those last 5 min. about inspiration/creative process were so eye opening.

[@KaiserSlowzie]

Liked Only God Forgives way more than Drive. OGF feels like kind of 2001 had a baby with Holy Mountain, & it was born in Thailand. Also the final karaoke song is the SHIT.

[@bmanmango]

I was mixed with Only God Forgives because I thought the story wasn't completely explained and lacking, but I also thought the cinematography was completely engrossing.

[@pinglauwa]

Please keep these coming. I LOVE long interviews, they go really in-depth, have original questions and not just like those cookie-cutter ones that last 3 minutes.

[@lolopolo5599]

he's an amazing film maker.

[@gettinguponthe1]

"i can't remember what happened. or i remember, but have forgotten."

[@cjmo75]

Let me tell you if you haven't seen "Only God Forgives" you HAVE to see it. This is hands down Refn's BEST work. Now, a lot of people who saw Drive should know upfront - This is nothing like that at all. This movie is extremely Kubrique-like and very dark. In fact, Refn teamed with former Kubrick cameraman Larry Smith to make the movie. I am a HUGE Gosling fan after this as I now see that he's got incredible versatility and a way about him that is so cool and gracefully accepting. 5 stars!

[@zacharywhittaker2542]

these podcast are usually super good

[@schlam9320]

Thanks for that, Really excited to see Only god Forgives

[@Caspernil]

Haha Love Refn and this was hilarious. I imagine a night out with him would leave me in stitches.

[@ZombieRommel]

But the beauty is that if you are naturally as intuitive as Refn and as fluent in the language of visual metaphor, and have as keen a sense of atmosphere, then his movies blow away everything else out there.

[@DatNiceDude]

I liked Only God Forgives, but you had to watch it in the right mindset. It was a movie about forgiveness but the whole theme was like a fairy tale (like Jack and Jill or Hansel and Gretel), once you understood the unspoken parts of the movie, it's really cool.

[@themrjones]

This guy directs films. What a baller.

[@moeron13]

"I have very soft hands"

[@drumherum]

many people dont like the movie which i dont understand. the movie is badass, so much interpretation possible and the atmospheres created are stunning...

[@tab1990]

The whole time I was watching it, I was reminded of 2001 and Twin Peaks.

[@Glazbamman]

Great interview!

[@OnanTheBavarian]

Learned a lot about filmmaking by watching that. Trank you!

[@mikey_fixed]

It's just like "Drive" lots of visuals, great scenery but god damn the lack of dialogue kills me

[@masquitoman]

I thought this was over all a great interview, and informative, but slightly frustrating, I just really wanted to hear nicholas speak on his own

[@Verosonin]

Amazing movie, amazing podcast, amazing everything. Thank you VICE for interviewing Refn, interesting guy!

[@kevinhoma5791]

Eddy Moretti try being more okay with silence when interviewing, you keep interrupting with hmms and the like, let him speak with more continuity instead of breaking it up so much. Great interview though.

[@WillBinks]

Disgustingly inspirational. WHat a f**king artist. HE gets it

[@freshlineproductions]

The fact that thousands of other people saw the metaphor and used their BRAINS tells me a lot about how much you were thinking when you were watching this film. If you thought the sight of a man getting his eyeballs slashed vertically, or a woman being stabbed in the throat with a samurai sword was boring I'd hate to think what you find a thrill. P.S the metaphor made perfect sense. The Devil (Crystal) and God (Cheng) fighting over the mind of Julian. Hence the red and blue lighting contrast.

[@MrFawkesGuy]

only god forgives worked like a highly stylized biblical parable

[@bongmygong1991]

It's an exhaustive, self-indulgent piece of cinema.

[@rchris31]

Perfect product placement right behind Refn's head. Nice job Apple!

[@horgandavid]

The trick to interviewing is to let the interviewee speak and not keep interrupting them.

[@MrPaulwalrus]

I was surprised when he said he was not a religious person. The movie seemed very theological with its metaphors. Maybe that's the beauty of a movie that is so abstract and dark; its almost like music. You can sort of make it speak to you in a way that wasn't directly intended by the director.

[@BosnianSandman]

I loved Only God Forgivess, and Nic is very intelligent director :)

[@tracertong2052]

I'd strongly suggest watching Refn's Pusher trilogy. These are one of the best films I've ever seen. Strongly recommended.

[@jbvap]

EXACTLY. A lot of people I know didnt like drive because it didnt have much action. These are the same people that "fast and the furious" is their favorite movie! I loved Drive, and Only God Forgives. Id watch OGF even if there was no dialogue just to see the shots.

[@MontyDatta]

Powerful!

[@MrHEC381991]

Nicolas knows what's goin down.

[@circularsky]

Ryan Gosling is a wonderful actor. Love that guy.

[@cadillacgrills2]

this moment here sums up the entire interview, "what do you think of my hands?" 25:22

[@k.e.anderson3485]

Eddy(on bronson and valhalla rising: "which one is your favorite?" Nic: "You can't. Its hard, i have 2 kids.. It's not Sofies Choice

[@Staymellow88]

Yeah he's somewhere else during the interview

[@consonaadversapars]

Staymellow88 What? Refn's statement was perfectly clear. He does not want to choose one over the other.

[@TheMiniShottty931]

I think it's more like Valhalla Rising than Drive. It has a lot of surreal moments and visions and stuff, like VR.

[@rudolphgoebbels7963]

and somebody really needs to get him to understand the difference between adverbs and adjectives. in every single fucking interview i've heard him saying that he shoots his films in chronologically order. it physically hurts and no one corrects him.

[@philipjakobsson3657]

I think you should shut the fuck up and respect people that doesn't have english as their first language.

[@rudolphgoebbels7963]

Philip Jakobsson well guess what, English isn't my first language either, but at least I try to make a fucking effort

[@okaycoward]

Rudolph Göebbels Why even complain?

[@andreimileti]

I've noticed that too, but I think it's hilarious every time.

[@MrAstjr]

33:56 The act of creativity is the ultimate high

[@iBdan97]

"As an intellectual" LMAO you real funny.

[@howell1488]

This man makes art not movies.

[@howell1488]

Yeah "Tree Of Life" is exactly in my ball park, although i've never seen 2001. But i am a fan of the way Nicolas Refn portrays movies yet they always seem to split opinion. I've avoided "Fast Five" like my life depended on it and turned "Skyfall" off after around 30 minutes, So i will be checking this out tomorrow. Thanks alot for the input!.

[@peanutbutterwarrior1503]

16:25 haha what where you high on ? Pot ? Haha didn't think he would say that lol

[@Gorillaz12d]

16:24 what were you high on? Pot? Couldn't help but laugh at this.

[@tonygunz21]

I wasn't expecting this movie to be just like Drive, but having the same team of people I just figured this movie would be one that I would enjoy, as I did Drive. I respect your opinion though.

[@muse51396]

He's wearing the same outfit that Chang does in only god forgives O.o

[@Longmachao]

I bet this guy could direct a movie with just Ryan Gosling taking a dump and these pseudo-intellectual will still rave about what a deep film it was.

[@RedrumRowan]

shit, i'd watch that film.

[@luisa.belmares5716]

30:00 I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't write... Jesse in The Neon Demon

[@Lucaat]

I loved drive, I don't why though. Probably a combination of this mute yet meaningful vibe I can identify with other than, cars, soundtrack, style, story. But the director seems like a special kind of guy, abstract way of talking, anyway, go Refn! looking forward to more movies :D

[@sperlich890]

i would teacher this more seriously if it wasn't filmed in the copy room

[@TheEIPfan]

This is almost exactly what I think as well.

[@BOB2112420]

He wants to go back into the womb. It's a metaphor that has been used many times before.

[@Deeliciousxox]

waited for this interview to get better . . it never did

[@MindFlowersDotNet]

Valhalla Rising, Drive, Pusher...I like them all very much. I'm looking forward to OGF.

[@whothennow81]

Great interview. Have to say, I didn't think much of 'only God forgives'.

[@Aswesaw]

Really cool!!

[@ElRadioDJ913]

He a Good Visionary Director though but his Film Drive was a Masterpiece!

[@SIRHaydnHoelke]

the only people who don't understand hadn't seen this interview before they saw the movie. It's hard to understand unless you know how to watch it. thats how new-thinking this movie is, great interview and great movie if you can understand it. (the mom was kinda weird though)

[@Arctorkovich]

I agree. Hearing some directors talk about their artistic intentions it's like listening to a junky describing heroin.

[@JDSproducitons]

Based on the comments on here I can see a lot of people didn't understand the movie. I think that's the problem with most reviewers.... Expecting an action movie or something that follows the general formula. It's a movie about forgiveness and I think over time, it will find the appreciation it deserves. If you watch it again, come in with the mindset that this movie is highly reliant on visuals/metaphors/symbols. Don't rely or expect to be given all the information in words/dialogue.

[@olivebirdish]

i can't tell if his voice lulls me or annoys me... hmm love his hand motions when explaining good v.s. bad ego lol

[@Gorillaz12d]

I get what you mean. He makes a smart idea look stupid with the way he describes it. Like saying that "God Forgives" all started from him wanting to make a movie about the image of a hand. That just doesn't do the film much justice considering how much it got bombed. Although, it did evolve into something much more thought out.

[@brennenspice6098]

David lynch is different however, all the symbolism in only god forgives has a direct meaning, and david lynch movies often have multiple.

[@cgmetallica1981]

Because you have different taste and probably expected a mindless action movie where Gosling comes out at the end as a hero of some sort, but instead got a completely different movie but you still treat it as such.

[@MannequinFactoryy]

this is all nice and everything but THE GUY IN THE BACKGROUND AT 00:36 WAS PICKING HIS NOSE TEE HEE HEE *runs away telling everyone*

[@DjPADYBU]

whats with with vice guys voices? first the drug guy now this dude?! makes me feel like I need a glass of water

[@qu7aker1]

I would very much like to know that as well. Its sounds extremely interesting.

[@HelloSignHere]

"Intellectual, intellectual intellectual."

[@AlecGandy]

The things about refn is that his all his films are visually dazzling, but narratively frustrating. Not in the sense that its mysteries but in the sense that there is a complete void there. Only God Forgives had some interesting elements (The Greek tragedy of the mother son relationship, the beautiful colours, the torture sequence), but like the rest of his films it falls flat. It's dazzling cinema but I can't say Refn is close to being a respectable auteur, historically speaking... Thoughts?

[@raptor2285]

So in other words you're almost entirely correct. I'm probably just an exception

[@Fergesslich]

Oh, now I am a moron, too. I think the discussion has ended. Get an anger management course.

[@SuperSwitcha]

He's a great director but very lucky too.

[@JDSproducitons]

Only God Forgives isn't that bad. The movie deals with a lot of foreshadowing/symbolism. The director wanted to give most of the information through visuals. Julian(Ryan) is a character feeling the guilt of killing his father and wants forgiveness. He seeks this forgiveness from an unstoppable cop that enacts his form of justice with a sword. This cop is the symbolic form of god. The characters are more like metaphors or symbols. I think it's totally an interesting movie.

[@Gorillaz12d]

"I have very soft hands" Haahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

[@AhmadMouk]

He's probably thinking "what the fuck is this guy saying?"

[@fimpson]

yeah man - it's like how everyone hated bladerunner when it came out and now it's a classic. really need to see only god forgives - it's getting very unsupportive reviews in Australia.

[@xX420QuickScopeXx]

he's earned it

[@jamiecal11]

It's only online a couple days and I'm already sick shit of people saying stuff like "I didn't like this, and this is coming from someone who LOVED 'Drive'", ugh.

[@raptor2285]

I completely agree with you, except for that last point you made. I LOVED Skyfall, the cinematography, the music, the pacing, the acting I thought was all brilliant. lol and I thought Fast and Furious 6 was hilarious and awesome. I also really appreciated Only God Forgives for what it was (I LOVED Drive as well). You can't really say that people who like movies like Skyfall absolutely won't like this one. Well... with F&F you almost can haha. or maybe I'm just a cinema holic

[@marbarosi]

I feel you. I mean I enjoy Hirokazu Koreeda films , where others may not. Thought I can't help what resonates deep within me. I consider myself to have a very open mind and have enjoyed his work in the past. I'm also aware how he was pretty much bankrupt, but stuck gold with drive success , and I do appreciate his work as an artist.. I Just found Only god forgives, lacked a story. visually I enjoyed it, but even cinema has a guideline sotospeak. Also I wouldn't know either if it was my bag.

[@mroptimusprime1]

"Society and religion take away the inately violent functions of our hands and teeth... I thought they were for eating and holding things and people used them secondarily to harm each other." Primally maybe creatures are violent but what separates us from animals is not the ability to reason and solve our problems in logical non-aggressive ways. It's our ability to not be violent that makes us human.

[@u_c_z]

great guy.

[@davidkajmowicz7534]

I was not trying to put Kubrick and Refn in the same league. My whole point to this discussion was talking about how true filmmaking is done, and Kubrick exhibited that in the highest. So if people will be critical of Refn's movies, it will be through that lens. Refn sounds dull. A film is more about what the audience makes of it, not what the director intended. But the mark of a skilled director is effectively getting across his ideas. All other interpretations reinforce the original genius.

[@ryry011992]

"Understand it correctly." Doesn't take a genius to understand it ahahahaha