This is the Reason Nicolas Winding Refn Makes Films with Such High Contrast

How does one's inability to see certain colors affect the way they make films? Just ask Nicolas Winding Refn.

Yes, the director of Only God Forgives, Drive, and Bronson is unable to see midtones, and this video essay shows how his color blindness shows up in not only the look of his movies, but their content as well. 

For Refn, it's all about contrast. His quote at the beginning of the video states that because of his color blindness, his images have to have a lot of contrast, otherwise he wouldn't be able to see them. This is absolutely true for his overall body of work.

But it's not just the colors and tones of his films that are high in contrast. Their subject matter and themes are, too. That's the other point the video essay was trying to explain, that Refn's films express the polarity of life. Where there is love, there is hate. Where there is aggression, there is passiveness. Where there is growth, there is decay. Perhaps Refn's unique experience as a color blind director makes him all the more aware of the dichotomy between not only colors, but between elements of the human experience.