Drive, Bronson and Only God Forgives are the films most would immediately associate with Nicolas Winding Refn; even if they didn't, it's not as though Refn has a secret back catalogue of fluffy period pieces waiting to change your mind about him. Judging by every film he's ever made, Nicolas Winding Refn loves gaudy colours, aggressively conflicted main characters, and extreme, bloody violence. He also loves Lasse Hallstrom's My Life As A Dog, a coming-of-age movie and weepie centred on a 12-year-old Swedish boy, and about which Refn said, "its the only movie aside from Its A Wonderful Life during which Ive cried because I was happy". Refn picked the movie as one of his top ten Criterion films in 2012, alongside classic horrors like Vampyr and The Night Of The Hunter. It's an odd choice from Refn, not because My Life As A Dog is considered a bad film (author Kurt Vonnegut also called it one of his favourites), but because you'd typically assume Refn was a fan of genre fare and exploitation cinema. And he clearly is, seeing as he also picked Flesh For Frankenstein and Videodrome for his Criterion list, thus restoring balance to the universe.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
