Festival Predictions

2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God

Published on April 14, 2013

#5. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives

Gist: Julien (Ryan Gosling) runs a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, but the business is a front for his family’s drug smuggling operation. When his brother is murdered, his mother, Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas), orders him to find and kill the party responsible. The boxing club will utilized.

Prediction: This is Refn’s much anticipated follow-up to 2011’s Drive, which played in the Main Competition that year and snagged him Best Director at the fest. Refn reunites with Gosling and Larry Smith, his cinematographer from Bronson (2008), that Miss Marple television film from 2007, and Fear X (2003). A slot in the Main Competition seems inevitable for Only God Forgives – the film which Thierry showed surprise clips of at last year’s fest.

Related Topics:2013 Cannes Film Festival, Nicolas Winding Refn, Only God Forgives

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.