Drive and only God forgives

M

Only God Forgives is a Crime/thriller. The film is about a Thai boxing manager named Julian, who is essentially a drug dealer that seeks out the killer of his brother, who was killed by a retired police Lieutenant by the name of Chang. 

The film combines genre's in interesting ways, as this film is essentially a crime thriller with eastern religious overtones. It features conventions associated with western films (silent characters, justice, redemption) and has a slow, eerie pace that creates an atmosphere of surrealism. 

The cast features Ryan gosling, who was played the lead role in the directors earlier film drive. However he is very underplayed and the film is essentially about his spiritual journey to regain his redemption at the hands of The police lieutenant, Chang is played by Vithaya Pansringarm, who brings both an over whelming sense of power to the role. The films features a heavy cast of unknown Easten actors, since the film is set in Bangkok. This choice of setting combined with the gives a sense of mystery, as we are experiencing a culture we are both unfamiliar with, and interested by, which helps identify with the few Westen characters who feel the same way. We can also make a connection to this film and western films, with the convention of a lone stranger entering town, and of East versus west.
The setting feels very authentic and realistic, as the film was shot on location in Bangkok. The setting feels worn down almost decreped, intimidating,, atmospheric and dangerous. The film focuses more on the seedy side of Bangkok most notably the red light district and the the drugs and violence that accompanies it, which paints its setting as a very grim, dystopian reality. The signs and colours all drenched in neon is almost surreal, the colours engulf  the screen in a Reds and blues, an artistic choice that makes the Bangkok nightlife setting look like crude, corrupt and dangerous. This light contrasts the more subtle and elegant points in the film.

The reason why the colours are so blunt and powerful is because of there hidden symbolic meaning, or possibly it's underling meanings of the film. Chang is God, before filming the director told the actor playing Chang "you are God" and he is unleashing his justice on the streets of Bangkok. Whether or not he is God, or is a man who thinks he is god, is left unexplained. Although Nicholas Winding Refn as said in interview that the film is about a man who fights God. This doesn't rule out the fact that he at least symbolically represents God and is portrayed in a quiet,controlled, powerful and highly respected manner. His fellow police officers can be seen as his angels, who are with him almost all the time and follow him regardless of his actions, whether that be slicing a man in two, or amputating a grieving furthers arm. Whenever we see Chang at his accomadation, the lighting and visuals become more peaceful and natural, sometimes contrasting the glow of the city behind him with the natural garden setting he is located in. His house is surrounded by rice fields and flowers, which gives off the illusion of a paradise, and that Chang (God) for all his violent characteristics is still a man of peace and unity. 

The editing in this film is very similar to that of kubricks shining, with it occasionally leaving reality . Julian has visions through out the film, where the scene will seamlessly go into what he is imagining or experiencing, with visual cues to let us know it is a vision (for example his shirt changes to a different colour in his vision, and then back to its original colour to let us know we are back in reality). The visions are directed with a quality reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick, with lots of long shots peering down hallways and creating a sense of surreal dread.
In a effort to evoke the feel of a western, many scenes have long drawn out sequences (similar to the final confrontation in the good the bad the ugly) before an important revelation or moment as a way of building tension. For example the brawl with Chang is done in the same was as a traditional stand off or dual from a western, with long shots and an emphasis on eyes and hands,showing the pairs opposite each other. The films also uses its imagery as a way of foreshadowing later scenes. Early in the movie Julian is positioned in front of statue, and the statue appears to be staring over him in the background. 

Drive is by the same director as only god forgives, and both share similar themes as each other, both revolve around crime and what normality, both feature an anti-hero who are seeking redemption, family and love. And both end with the protagonists having nothing. 

Drive opens with the driver (played by Ryan gosling) staring out onto the sprawling neon drenched city of Los Angeles, talking into the phone to his client. We understand that the driver is meticulous, his route and car already planned out, colour co ordinated maps on the tables, and him speaking in mono-tone. What follows from here is one of the most suspenseful car chases in recent years, we can notice that through this entire sequence the camera never leaves the car, which only adds to the viciousness and tension of the chase. From her we zoom out to see the light drenched city of l.A, it's imtimadating and violent, very similar to only God forgives red light district. 

The editing in drive is immaculate, it's quick and subtle, with the cuts hardly ever appearing apparant. In both chase scenes, the scene appears to be a single shot. This was done to create fluidity in the chase, with the action appearing to be one continuous take. If we look away from the more violent gritty scenes, and to the more personal, dialogue driven scenes we can see a totally different style of editing being used. During scenes where the only action is that of conversations, the camera tends to linger on a persons face before cutting to the next persons. This is apparant in nino's pizza shop, where the camera focuses on the gangsters faces longer than there lines actually last, this was done to give emphasis to the emotions and relationships between characters. 

If we look at the mise en scene for drive, we can tell that great detail has been placed in the costume. For example, the driver scorpion jacket has symbolic detail. The insparation for the jacket comes from a old Japanese folk tail about the frog and a scorpion, the tale is about a scorpion who wants passage across a river stream, he asks a frog if he may ride in his back to the opposite bank. At first he is turned down as the frog says "no because you'll sting me" the scorpion replies "if I sting you then we'd both drown" half way across the stream the scorpion stings the frog and they drown. Right before the two sink to the bottom of the lake, the scorpion says "I stung you, as it is my nature to sting, and you can't stop nature". This story can be seen as a representation of the driver, no matter how hard he can trie to fit into a normal world, he'll always be the one who ruins it for himself.