Pusher (1996)

The gangland side of Nordic crime, with no detective in sight. Nicolas Winding Refn's debut follows Frank, a Copenhagen drug pusher whose botched deal leaves him owing a ruthless dealer, and the film tightens around him as his options run out. Shot handheld and close, it feels like being trapped in the passenger seat with Kim Bodnia's Frank. Mads Mikkelsen, in his first film role, steals scenes as Frank's mouthy sidekick Tonny, a part he took up again in Pusher II. Choose it if you want grit and pressure rather than a mystery; the bleakness here is urban and personal rather than scenic.