Pusher (1996)

A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Jens Dahl, Nicolas Winding Refn

Stars:

Kim Bodnia, Zlatko Buric, Laura Drasbæk

1 win.

Cast

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

Storyline

Frank is a drug pusher on the roll until he makes a huge deal with dope that he hasn't paid for and he gets busted by the police. He manages to dump the dope in a nearby lake but he owes his supplier a lot of money (not a nice guy to owe money to). Now we follow Frank in his quest to raise money in the underworld of Copenhagen.

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Plot Keywords:

stripper | bathtub | drug deal | drug lord | ex convict | 

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Taglines:

Du har ikke en chance. Grib den.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish Swedish Serbian

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Diler

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

DKK 6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,656, 9 May 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,440, 16 May 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Balboa Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene, before Frank leaves Milo's bar, you can see a picture of Zeljko Raznatovic - Arkan on the wall. Arkan was a Serbian criminal and later a paramilitary leader, notable for organizing and leading a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars. During Arkan's reign in racketeering business, wall calendars like this one (depicting himself, his wife or Red Star soccer club) were used to show that dues were payed. Zlatko Buric is originally from Croatia, but depicts a Serb in this movie.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Tonny: Hey fish! Do you often get pussy?

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Crazy Credits

Til min onkel Peter Refn

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Connections

References Mad Max (1979)

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Soundtracks

Beautiful Day
by Peter Kyed

User Reviews

comments by John Orr, Edinurgh Scotland

Pusher is a visceral low-budget movie set on the streets of Copenhagen. Though its director Nicholas Winding Refn is not a part of Dogme 95 the film uses many of the Dogme maxims to better effect. The plot is deceptively simple. Frank (Kim Bodnia)is double-crossed on a deal and has a couple of days to make good the covering loan to a sadistic Balkan gangster. The film's speed rhythms convey the nightmare of time running out, luck running out, and life, shot with hand-held camera in natural light going around in circles until suddenly damnation beckons. Tougher than Tarantino or Trainspotting, it pulls no punches and its running gags fail to draw the sting. One of the great city films of the 1990s.