I received a press invite to see Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Only God Forgives one week from today. As anyone that reads this site already knows, I saw it in Cannes and wasn’t exactly blown away (read my review here) and I’m not sure I’m ready to revisit it again just yet. In fact, I’m not sure I need to revisit it in the theater at all. I feel a late night, Blu-ray screening is where a second screening would be best. Then again, when you see a film in Cannes on their massive Grand Lumiere theatre screen it’s not like many theatres in the world will be able to compare.
Today a new international trailer for the film has arrived as it will make its way to theaters on July 19. Here’s a snippet from my review:
In terms of pacing, religion, transformation and a penchant for executioner violence, Only God Forgives and [Valhalla Rising] are very similar. Fans arriving at the film through the likes of Refn’s Pusher trilogy, Bronson or Drive will likely be disappointed to find it moves at a snail’s pace for the entirety of its running time with very little overt explanation for what’s going on, though the religious, Oedipal and sexual themes are hard to overlook.
After leaving the theater, my immediate reaction was to join the chorus calling it “style over substance” with style to spare. I began working out my thoughts with other critics, explaining my reaction and interpretation and hearing theirs. There was a difference of opinion in some respects with the religious themes. I felt it was a story of two angels, an angel of vengeance and an angel of mercy. Some believed my Angel of Vengeance was in fact an embodiment of God. By the end of the discussion I realized there was only one angel, if any…
Check out the trailer below and take to the comments to let me know if this is a film you’ll be seeing opening weekend. At the very least, fans of Refn deserve to see it for the first time on the biggest screen possible. Save the small screen for viewing #2
