Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Her Private Hell’ Receives a Warm Welcome at Cannes with a 12-Minute Standing Ovation
Monday night at the Cannes Film Festival showcased the talents of Nicolas Winding Refn, whose latest film, Her Private Hell, captivated audiences despite being screened out of competition. The film received a resounding 12-minute standing ovation at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, marking the second longest applause of the evening, following Fjord.
Emotions ran high as Refn and his cast celebrated the audience’s reception. Star Sophie Thatcher was visibly moved to tears during the event, which began timing ovations from the moment the credits rolled until the applause ceased.
In a heartfelt nearly three-minute speech, Refn shared a personal account of overcoming a near-fatal experience during heart surgery, where he was clinically dead for 25 minutes.
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“That changes you. When I was brought back to life with electricity, that I’m alive again; I only have 25 years of my life to live. But I’m going to make damn use of that to live life to the fullest. To make this film again and be back at Cannes where I came from is a huge step for mankind,” he told the crowd, eliciting laughter.
Refn also acknowledged the presence of 90-year-old composer Pino Donaggio during his remarks.
The director took a political stance, stating, “When all the politicians f**ked up the world, and blown up all the countries and stole all our money, the only thing that’s left is art. Now that everything is so unequal, and everyone is fighting and yelling at each other, the only thing that brings everyone together is going to the movies, sitting together and seeing a movie. That’s why we need to make cinema. Now because we can watch cinema on a f**king iPhone – I do that – because cinema is about coming together as a collective experience which is what human beings do. Yeah, we’re just human beings. So this year one, day one, cinema is the future, cinema is alive, it’s resurrected.”
As the festival progresses, the runner-up for audience applause moments includes James Gray’s Paper Tiger with a 10-minute ovation and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, which received an 11-minute salute on Friday.
Her Private Hell features a cast including Sophie Thatcher, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, and Charles Melton, unfolding a narrative set in a swanky, futuristic Los Angeles-like hotel. The plot follows a group of model-esque women preparing to create a Barbarella-style sci-fi film, only to contend with a lurking killer known as Leather Man.
Refn, who previously won Best Director at Cannes for his 2011 film Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling, has made a notable return to the festival. Drive itself received a nearly 15-minute standing ovation, as reported by Pete Hammond at the time.
The domestic distribution rights for Her Private Hell are held by NEON, and a trailer for the film was released today in anticipation of its theatrical debut on July 24.
