“I think the Pusher trilogy is about capturing authenticity. My goal was to make it seem as real as possible. […] But by the end, I realized that I was never going to attain a satisfying version of that. In a way, heightened reality was much more interesting.” —Nicolas Winding Refn

At first sight, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy seems to overflow with masculine energy, drugs, and violence, but it is actually a treatise of sorts on vulnerability and confusion. The trilogy started with the revered Danish director’s debut Pusher, which also marked the acting debut in a feature film of one of the most charismatic actors of his generation: Mads Mikkelsen. Although the film has since garnered cult status, it only became renowned worldwide due to the success of its UK release. What’s more, the next two films in the trilogy were not originally planned but were made to pay off the debt accrued by Refn’s production company after the poor box office results of Fear X.

Following three different characters in the throes of hairy situations, and shot on handheld cameras in a cinéma vérité style, the trilogy portrays the world of crime through a social-realist touch. In their frenetic depiction of Copenhagen’s grim underbelly, these films offer a visceral punch and show a remarkable mastery of the thriller genre. As an outlook into the depths of human emotions, they also represent a compelling chronicle of pain and self-destruction amidst the roughest of gangsters.