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6. Pusher II/Pusher III
Yes, I agree that it's a bit cumbersome having parts 2 and 3 of a trilogy as one entry but what am I supposed to do? They're chapters in the same story, with the same characters drifting in and out, so I don't think it's fair to separate them; and the first Pusher was made back in 1996, so obviously I can't include that one. Ok, well, justification over.
Do you remember that sequence in Goodfellas, when Henry has to arrange some coke smuggling, pick up his brother from the airport, cook some pasta, sell some silencers etc etc, and all the while the music gets louder and faster, and the adrenaline practically squirts out the screen? Well, the Pusher trilogy is like that, non-stop. That's 6 hours of squirting adrenaline in total. My favourite instalment is the second one. Mads Mikkelsen is the focus here, playing serial loser Tonny, his rubishness marked out by the massive 'respect' tattoo on the back of his head. Och, and he's having a hard time of it. His father is keeping him as far away from the family business as possible; his ex-girlfriend is pregnant and only ever talks to him to laugh at him or hit him up for money; his partner in crime, Kurt the Cunt, is almost as big a loser as he is; he can't get an erection; and he keeps on doing stupid, stupid things. The whole film is swamped in coke, giving it an intense, paranoid feel. Tonny finally manages to take hold of his life, leaving you with an ambiguous ending which is fairly upbeat at first glance, but which on reflection offers little potential for a happy ending. Poor Tonny.
The third film centres on Milo, who pops up in the first two films as the ruthless, seemingly untouchable gang boss. The third film shows that he's not actually untouchable at all. He's got quite a few people touching him, like the scary new gangsters in town and his horrific daughter, and on top of that he just can't seem to stop smoking that darn heroin. Things get so bad that he has to rope in his old pal Branko for a hand. This is excellent news for the viewer, because Branko is grrrreat. He has a role in the first film as Milo's brutal enforcer, but he's conspicuously absent from the second instalment. Turns out that he's done pretty well for himself. Regardless, Milo needs some help from old Branko, who's surprisingly warm-hearted and gentle considering that he's a savage, murderous bastard.
All three films take place in the tight confines of Copenhagen, as far as I can recall there are no scenes that take place outside the city. There's characters from Scandanavia, Serbia, Albania, and fuck knows where else, but the films never really acknowledge the concept of other places. This is it. You're stuck here in Copenhagen with these crazy people. Relentlessly relentless.