only god forgives

only god forgives report card:

atmosphere: A+
violence: A
oedipal themes: B-
frames within frames: A+
subversion of shot reverse shot: B
strings music soundtrack: A
lighting: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
white people bullshit: F

Wow, I am so sick of watching 'natives' of non-European countries be utterly and completely dehumanised by white protagonists. Apart from Lt. Chang, all the other Thai people in this film might as well be rats. They lack any and all human dignity. Watching them be killed by white people and kill each other was quite nauseating because of how Winding Refn has obviously very little regard for their worth as human beings. I have yet to see a White Man In Asia/Africa story where the 'natives' aren't seen as disposable props. Mai's repulsed stare is my mood at all times throughout that film. I came to see Ryan Gosling kill people with a hammer, but boy was I glad to watch him get beat up by the detective. He deserved that. (Also, I have realised that the hammer scene isn't even in this film, it is in fact from Drive, which is amazing, and better than this film not only because of the hammer but also because of Gosling's bomber jacket, the presence of Oscar Isaac, and a bangin' techno soundtrack.)

This reminds me of that infamous interview where Winding Refn was talking about why he whitewashed Carey Mulligan's character in Drive (she was supposed to be Latina) by saying that he met a lot of Latina actresses but none of them evoked the feeling of innocence, that he didn't feel the desire to protect them, but the second Carey Mulligan walked in he wanted to protect her, and that's why she was cast. I love Carey Mulligan and she did a really great job, but damn, Nick, that is literally so racist.