Pusher (1996)

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Jens Dahl (writer)
Nicolas Winding Refn (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't have a chance. Seize it!

Plot:

Frank is a drug pusher on the roll, until he makes a huge deal with dope that he hasn't payed for, and he gets busted by the police...

Plot Keywords:

Pusher | Drug Pusher | Drugs | Techno Rave | Drug Dealer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kim Bodnia	...	Frank
Zlatko Buric	...	Milo
Laura Drasbæk	...	Vic
Slavko Labovic	...	Radovan
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Tonny
Peter Andersson	...	Hasse
Vanja Bajicic	...	Branko
Lisbeth Rasmussen	...	Rita
Levino Jensen	...	Mike
Thomas Bo Larsen	...	Junkie
Lars Bom	...	Cop
Michael Hasselflug	...	Cop
Nicolas Winding Refn	...	Brian (as Jang Go Star)
Jesper Lohmann	...	Mikkel
Steen Fridberg	...	Lasse

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish | Swedish | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-16 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Germany:16 | Denmark:15

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Balboa Entertainment

Trivia:

Zlatko Buric's debut role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Frank enters the room and sits down next to sleeping Vic, he grabs her left leg and shakes it, but in the following shot, he drops her right leg.

Quotes:

Vic: What are you watching?
Frank: Just some stupid movie with Johnny Depp.
Vic: Who's that?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Uno (2004)

Soundtrack:

Street Rat

Outstanding, realistic crime film

This is a really good film, one of the most realistic films about drugs and the criminal underworld I've ever seen. The film examines a week in the life of a mid-level drug dealer on the streets of Copenhagen and pulls no punches. Kim Bodina gives a great, nuanced performance as Frank, the dealer and main character. He captures perfectly the snaky charisma, emotional detachment and nihilism of a street dealer. Frank is essentially a sociopath, turning on the charm when it suits him and turning a blind eye on the people in his life when they can't be of any use to him. Especially effective is the portrayal of Frank's relationship with Vic, the high priced call girl he obviously cares about but can't bring himself to get physical with because of his emotional coldness. Frank blames this dilemma on her work, suggesting he can't touch her because she's a whore. However it's Vic he always turns to when things go bad.

And things go very bad very quickly for Frank. Through a series of miscalculations and bad luck, he finds himself indebted to a slimy dealer higher on the food chain who's patronizing attitude barely conceals a violent streak. As the week progresses, Frank spirals downward into a desperate attempt to fix his broken life. Trusts are broken, violence and mayhem ensue, and the film finishes on a surprising but perfect note.

The director, Nicolas Winding Refn, shows a good command of pacing and camera work. The real star of the film, however is the script. There is never a moment of Pusher that doesn't seem utterly real. Though many may find this film dark and depressing (I won't argue), I think it's strong acting and excellent direction make it well worth seeing.