Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2014

Following up on his film Drive, which was a relative commercial success for an arthouse fim, director Nicolas Winding Refn reteamed with star Ryan Gosling. Rather than turn out more of the same, the duo decided to return to a project they had set aside, Only God Forgives, which has polarized critics and audiences with its extreme violence and spiritual themes. “After Lou Reed had the success of Transformer, he came out with Metal Machine Music, which was so completely different,” Refn told Metropolis during a recent trip to Tokyo. “After Drive, I said I am going to make my Metal Machine Music.” Gosling plays an American running a boxing gym in Thailand. When his criminal brother is killed by a police lieutenant, crime boss mom (Kristin Scott Thomas, playing against type) shows up to settle the score. “Bangkok is the number one key factor for the story,” Refn explains. “By day it is very westernized, but by night it becomes very Asian. It’s almost like it is a werewolf.” Having made films in his native Denmark, the US and Thailand, does Refn plan to ever film in Japan? “I have always wanted to make a film in Tokyo,” the filmmaker says. “I am just searching for the right story to fit the city.” Only God Forgives opens January 25.