Pusher is a 1996 Danish crime thriller film co-written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, in his film debut. A commercial success considered to be influential in Danish film history, it marked Mads Mikkelsen's film debut.
The film is set in the criminal underground of Copenhagen, Denmark, and tells the story of the drug dealer Frank (Kim Bodnia) who, after losing a large amount of money in a drug deal gone wrong, falls into desperation as he only has a few days to raise the money he owes.
Although Pusher was not intended to become a franchise, financial difficulties forced Refn to produce two sequels: Pusher II, focusing on Mikkelsen's character after the events of the first film, and Pusher 3, focusing on another secondary character introduced in Pusher; both were financial and critical successes. A Hindi remake of the same name was released in 2010,
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. Refn organized the plot's events according to the days of the week in his notes and this was subsequently established in the final product. Refn's major inspirations for the film were The Battle of Algiers, Cannibal Holocaust, The French Connection, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Mean Streets.
Filming
During rehearsal, Refn became dissatisfied with Anders Nyborg, who was initially cast as Frank, with Refn thinking him too placid and boring. Two weeks before shooting was to begin, Refn fired Nyborg without a replacement in line. Refn approached Kim Bodnia, 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 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. 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 Serbian war criminal Željko Ražnatović. 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. 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. Refn wanted to capture a realistic, documentary feel to the film. This caused problems with the time constraints of the shooting schedule and Refn's desire to keep the film shadowy. Actors are often backlit or difficult to see due to the low levels of lighting used.
The film was shot almost completely in chronological order. Refn later admitted that shooting scenes out of order was confusing to him, but some scenes were reshot or added later. The scene in which Frank shoots at Milo's thugs was originally filmed without special effects, but Refn was dissatisfied 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.
Soundtrack
Punk rocker Peter Peter and composer Povl Kristian composed the score and formed the temporary band Prisoner to perform the score, with Peter playing guitar and Kristian playing the clavier. Kristian also composed the song "Summers got the colour" with text by Lars K. Andersen which was sung by Aud Wilken. Although Povl Kristian did not return to work on the sequels, the "Pusher theme" he wrote with Peter Peter was used in all of the following films.
Reception
The film was considered the first Danish-language gangster film and became a breakthrough success for Refn and several of the lead actors. 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 film. Zlatko Burić was given a Bodil Award in 1997 for his performance as Milo.
Sequels
Two sequels followed, focusing on different characters from the same "underworld" milieu of Copenhagen.
Pusher II follows Frank's former partner, Tonny, and an English-language remake in 2012.