Pusher (film)
Encyclopedia
Pusher is a 1996 Danish crime film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The film was not only a huge success in Denmark, but also in many other European countries. It was the film that launched Winding Refn's career. It became the first of a trilogy. A Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 remake of the film was released in 2007 directed by Assad Raja.

Plot

The film begins in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 with Frank, a mid-level drug dealer, going to a heroin deal with his sidekick Tonny. The pair only manage to sell some of their product, and then waste time about town. Frank then visits his friend Vic, a prostitute
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 who holds some of Frank's stash for a fee. Vic wants to have a serious relationship with Frank, but Frank prefers to keep it purely sexual.

Frank is visited by a former cellmate, a Swede named Hasse, and the pair set up a large drug deal. Frank visits his supplier, the Serb
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 drug lord
Drug lord
A drug lord, drug baron or kingpin is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from...

 Milo to get the heroin. Already owing Milo some money, Frank cannot cover the cost of the heroin, but Milo allows him to take the drugs provided that he immediately returns with the money.

The deal goes bad, however, when police arrive. In the process of evading the police, Frank dumps the heroin in a pond. At the station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...

, police officers convince Frank that Tonny has delivered a confession that implicates Frank, but he still does not admit to anything. When Frank is released after 24 hours he returns to Milo to explain how he lost the money and the drugs. Milo does not believe Frank's story and demands that he pay back even more than he already owes. Frank then immediately seeks Tonny out and savagely beats him with a baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...

.

Milo's cynical henchman
Henchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...

 Radovan accompanies Frank to help him collect on some of his own debts to use toward his debt with Milo. The pair have a friendly conversation and Radovan shares his secret desire to open a restaurant. However, when Radovan tries to force an addict customer of Frank's to rob a bank to cover his debt, the addict commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

. As Frank makes other disastrous attempts to earn money, Vic becomes increasingly insistent that they behave as a couple. He takes her to several clubs and makes plans to drive her to the veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

 to see her sick dog.

Frank finally makes a deal, but his drug mule
Mule (smuggling)
A mule or courier is someone who smuggles something with him or her across a national border, including bringing in to and out of an international plane, especially a small amount, transported for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught...

 betrays him and switches the heroin for baking soda. Radovan drops his friendly demeanor and begins threatening Frank with serious injury should he fail to pay up soon. Frank goes on a desperate rampage, stealing some money and drugs from a gym of drug-dealing bodybuilders
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

, but he is soon picked up by Radovan and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

d. Frank manages to escape and makes plans to flee with Vic to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. After successfully making his final deal in Copenhagen, Frank receives a call from Milo, who promises to accept a token payment to put an end to their feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...

. When Frank bluntly informs Vic that he will not be going away with her, she steals his stash of money and flees.

The film ends with Frank grimly catching his breath as his enemies throughout the city prepare to strike.

Cast

  • Kim Bodnia
    Kim Bodnia
    -Movie career:He has appeared in several of the successful Danish films from the 1990s and 2000s, e.g. Nattevagten , Pusher, and Bleeder, the latter two directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, and the two Lasse Spang Olsen films In China They Eat Dogs, Old Men in New Cars and Terribly Happy.Bodnia has...

     as Frank, a mid-level drug-dealer
  • Zlatko Burić
    Zlatko buric
    Zlatko Burić is a Croat-Danish actor. He was born in Osijek, Croatia , and educated at Dramski Studio in Osijek...

     as Milo, a powerful Serb drug lord, with a fondness for baking
  • Laura Drasbæk as Vic, a high-class prostitute and Frank's girlfriend
  • Slavko Labović
    Slavko Labovic
    Slavko Labović is a Serbian-Danish actor most popular for the role as a Serbian gangster in the Pusher trilogy....

     as Radovan, Milo's enforcer and aspiring restaurateur
  • Mads Mikkelsen
    Mads Mikkelsen
    ' is a Danish actor.-Life and career:Mikkelsen was born in the Østerbro area of Copenhagen, the son of Bente Christiansen and Henning Mikkelsen, a cab driver. He is the brother of actor Lars Mikkelsen. After attending Århus Theatre School, he made his film debut in the movie Pusher...

     as Tonny, Frank's cheerful partner
  • Vanja Bajičić as Branko, Radovan's cousin and Milo's thug
  • Peter Andersson
    Peter Andersson (actor)
    -Selected filmography:- External links :...

     as Hasse, a Swedish drug-dealer
  • Lisbeth Rasmussen as Rita, Frank's untrustworthy drug mule
  • Levino Jensen as Mike, a bodybuilding drug-dealer
  • Thomas Bo Larsen as a drug addict who owes Frank money
  • Lars Bom
    Lars Bom
    Lars Bom is a Danish actor, educated at The Danish National School of Theatre in 1985. Lars Bom has worked in a variety of roles in Theatre, Film and Television, and won the Best Actor award at the Italian Fantafestival in 1999, for his starring role in the cyberpunk-thriller Skyggen...

     as one of the officers who interrogates Frank

Development

The movie began as a five-minute short that director Winding Refn made as an application to the Danish film school. After failing to get accepted, Winding Refn decided to turn Pusher into a feature length independent film funded purely by himself and his family. He planned to shoot the film in black-and-white and cast his friends. However, Winding Refn eventually managed to acquire $1 million to make the movie traditionally. At the same time he received his funding, he was accepted into film school. Winding Refn passed on going to film school to make Pusher despite his inexperience and lack of filmmaking education. Winding Refn claims to be the only Dane to ever drop out of film school.

Winding Refn partnered with film student Jens Dahl to write the film's screenplay. His goal was to tell the story of a man under pressure, without glamorizing the lifestyle of a drug-dealer. Winding Refn organized the plot's events by days of the week in his notes, and this carried over into the final product.

Filming

During rehearsal, Winding Refn became dissatisfied with the actor he had cast as Frank, thinking him too placid and boring. Two weeks before shooting was to begin, Winding Refn fired the actor without a replacement in line. Winding Refn approached Kim Bodnia
Kim Bodnia
-Movie career:He has appeared in several of the successful Danish films from the 1990s and 2000s, e.g. Nattevagten , Pusher, and Bleeder, the latter two directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, and the two Lasse Spang Olsen films In China They Eat Dogs, Old Men in New Cars and Terribly Happy.Bodnia has...

, who was an established actor at the time, and Bodnia accepted. Though the other primary roles were mostly filled with experienced actors, many of the minor roles were filled by Winding Refn's friends or people accustomed to the street life.

Bodnia brought a greater degree of intensity and aggressiveness to the part that some actors were not prepared for. Winding Refn claimed that the surprised reactions of some actors are genuine, as they had not rehearsed with Bodnia beforehand and were expecting the previous actor's more sedate performances.

Slavko Labović, who played the Serbian thug Radovan, was a friend of Željko Ražnatović
Željko Ražnatovic
Željko Ražnatović , widely known as Arkan was a Serbian career criminal and later a paramilitary leader who was notable for organizing and leading a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars...

. He provided a poster of Ražnatović to use as a prop in Milo's headquarters. The actor playing Milo, Zlatko Burić, is actually a Croat. Winding Refn became concerned when violence flared between Serbs and Croats during filming, but the events did not cause problems on set.

The film was shot using Danish union rules, which allowed no more than 8 hours of filming per day, and no filming on weekends. The rules, combined with the high cost of filming permits, caused time and budget constraints. The film was shot entirely using hand-held cameras. Winding Refn wanted to capture a realistic, documentary feel to the film. This caused problems with the time constraints of the shooting schedule and Winding Refn's desire to keep the film shadowy. Actors are often backlit or difficult to see due to insufficient lighting.

The film was shot almost completely in chronological order. Winding Refn later admitted that shooting scenes out of order was confusing to him. However, some scenes were reshot or added later. The scene in which Frank shoots at Milo's thugs was originally filmed without special effects, but Winding Refn was unsatisfied with the results and reshot the scene using squibs. The scene with the junkie was shot after shooting had completed to replace a previous scene that Refn discarded because it dealt with an outdated vision of Frank's character.

Reception

The film was considered the first Danish-language gangster film and became a break-through success for Winding Refn and several of the lead actors. Winding Refn claimed that the film inspired cults of highly dedicated fans and influenced Danish fashion to emulate certain costumes worn by the characters. Kim Bodnia launched a very successful career as a leading man in Danish cinema largely due to the success of the movie. Zlatko Buric was given a Bodil Award
Bodil Awards
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe...

 for his performance as Milo.

Trilogy

The film inspired two sequels focusing on different characters in the same underworld of Copenhagen. Pusher II
Pusher II
Pusher II is a 2004 Danish crime film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The film is the second film in the Pusher trilogy, portraying the lives of criminals in Copenhagen.-Plot:...

follows Frank's former partner Tonny as he struggles with his relationship with his father and as well as the prospect of becoming a father himself. Pusher 3 follows the drug lord Milo through a hectic day as he struggles with his drug-addiction, a series of bad deals, and his daughter's birthday celebration.

Each movie in the trilogy opens with a montage of the film's characters set to pounding rock music. Each character is harshly lit from above, staring into the camera as their name is displayed.
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