Drive

Cuando la vi en el cine por tercera vez, se me confirmó definitivamente que en este caso no tiene sentido decidir entre cuatro y cinco estrellas. Drive es un desafío para un conocedor de películas. Para debatir, examinar toma por toma, frase por frase. No se puede incluir en la categoría de calidad, no se puede no admirar. Es una obra hipnóticamente tranquila y lenta, y al mismo tiempo llena de emociones y tensión. Trabaja con varios géneros, pero no se puede incluir en ninguno de ellos. Mantiene una gran distancia del personaje principal, no deja que lo entendamos y sintamos su relación con la chica, para cuya protección recurrió a la extrema violencia gráfica. Esta violencia se vuelve sorprendentemente gratuita, pero en contraste con la poética romántica circundante, irresistiblemente catártica. A través de una cámara y una música extravagantes, la película esconde la importancia de los diálogos que son el pilar de su historia. Los sirve poco, casi por pedazos, pero define perfectamente a los personajes con la primera y la segunda frase. Los actores son seleccionados de una forma original e inesperada, y desde su condición de estrellas marchitas o siempre de reparto, el director usa el arte de Tarantino y los convierte en intérpretes de personajes que quedarán grabados en nuestra memoria para siempre. En el futuro, Refn podría ser un nuevo Tarantino. Pero Drive todavía no es su Pulp Fiction. Necesitará más piezas en el tablero y una historia más complicada. (23.11.2011)

I haven’t seen a better film in the cinema this year. A dreamy, sad artsy gangster flick with an extremely charismatic protagonist and a perfect soundtrack. It gave me goosebumps, and more than once. Drive is basically a compilation of Refn’s previous films (I’d dutifully watched them all before). It’s like Pusher shot with the same slick cinematography of Valhalla Rising, spiced up with a blend of the music and the images of Bronson, and mixed with the ambiguous atmosphere of Fear X. A film that can be easily described as “beautiful”, even if fingers are smashed with a hammer, heads are shot and throats are cut. For me, a masterpiece without any flaws, but, as it’s been said, it’s certainly not for everyone. I’ve been playing “A Real Hero” on repeat for an hour. (16.09.2011)

Drive reminded me of the movie Collateral in its intimacy. Its story is incredibly subtle, but for the whole 100 minutes, I watched with bated breath and hardly moved, so as not to let go of the incredibly oppressive and minimalist atmosphere in the room. However, it was not just the story that made an impact, but a perfectly directed film in its essence, flawless in both atmosphere, visuals, and especially music, which works wonders with the movie. For example, I liked the opening credits with the music as I haven't liked any in a long time. The whole film had a momentum and Ryan Gosling even showed me fully who he really is and what a good actor is hidden in him. Thanks to this film, I will never forget him and I will look forward to every his contribution to the world of cinema. (07.05.2012)

For me, a completely bombastic demonstration of what a director with a vision can do from forgettable genre spectacles. Refn projected his fascination with inaccessible heroes, which is prolonged by passion and also by the fascination with stories in which the hero selflessly sacrifices himself. His pagan relishing of vibrations long after the main action of the shot is once again pure happiness, not to mention the beautifully shot car chases and captivating atmosphere of a Los Angeles night. Again, it should be underlined that for Refn, there is no main logic and story - these are just secondary links to the extremely strong scenes elaborated down-to-the-last detail. I look forward to the listing of all the nonsense that analyst viewers can bear, thinking that there is some consistency and story refinement in Drive. What fascinates me to the core: although this time the characters really talk a lot (they are Americans after all), the essentials about their motifs are expressed by Refn with a hint, gesture, facial expression. He simply remained Nordic, even in a field that is supremely "Hollywood". While it's a film with a completely accessible story, Refn made it into an uncontracted author's manifesto and a festival of subversive image-sound connectivity. I just love that Danish boy! Maybe he should make a Bond film. (07.09.2011)

It’s hypnotic (almost everyone talked about the soundtrack after leaving the movie theater), clings to details (cinematography, sound), and constantly goes against established audience expectations. When I got up from my seat, sweat was pouring off me and it wasn't just the heat in the movie theater. (14.09.2011)