Hitting the film scene at 26-years-old, Nicolas Winding Refn made his directorial debut with 1996’s Pusher. Long before dazzling critics with the likes of DRIVE and ONLY GOD FORGIVES, the failure of Refn’s first English language film, forced him to return to the Pusher series years later to continue the first film’s emerging cult status. Despite the ten year gap between the first and the last entries in the series, the trilogy showcases a cohesive and kinetic visual style and recurring, themes about honour, family, and the cruel twists of fate that haunt the central characters forcing them into dreadful corners. Modern Nordic Noir at its finest, Refn’s series is a synapse-splitting series not for the faint of heart.
Nordic Noir
The Pusher Trilogy
Pusher
20th Anniversary Screening
1996 • 105' • Swedish | Danish | Serbo-Croatian Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast:
Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Laura Drasbaek
A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord. Featuring an early performance from Mads Mikkelsen, Pusher serves as the pulsating reminder of where it all began. Just as the hopped up characters threaten to careen out of control Refn is in command of this kinetic experience each hurried step of the way.
Pusher II
With Blood On My Hands
2004 • 100' • Danish | Serbo-Croatian Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast:
Mads Mikkelsen, Leif Sylvester, Anne Sørensen
Tony is released from prison - again. This time he has his mind set on changing his broken down life, but that is easier said than done. Mikkelsen returns in shattering style, offering intensity and high octane aggression that is blistering to watch unfold. Brutal, unflinching and uncompromising, Refn’s return to these characters is essential viewing.
Pusher III
I'm The Angel Of Death
2005 • 90' • Polish | Danish | Serbian Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast:
Zlatko Buric, Marinela Dekic, Slavko Labovic
In this third instalment of the 'Pusher' trilogy, we follow Milo, the drug lord from the two first films. He is aging, he is planning his daughter's 25th birthday and his shipment of heroin turns out to be 10.000 pills of ecstasy. When Milo tries to sell the pills anyway all hell breaks loose. Refn’s third (and final) entry into the series changes pace from the initial films, offering a more sombre character portrait. Once again, the Refn’s style and central subject is as engrossing as ever.
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