Bleeder

Plot synopsis:
The film follows the friends Leo and Lenny, who lives in Nørrebro, a working-class neighborhood in Copenhagen. Leo lives in a rundown apartment with his girlfriend Louise. Lenny is a shy and quiet film expert who works with his and Leo's mutual friend Kitjo, in a video store that rents out art films as well as a huge collection of pornographic films.
As a subplot, we follow Lenny, who is trying to build a relationship to Lea, a girl that works in a local grill bar. Lenny asks Lea out to see a movie, but he chickens out when he sees her at the theatre. Lenny spends most of his time both at home and at work watching films.
When Leo finds out that Louise is pregnant and wants to keep the baby, he becomes more and more aggressive. After witnessing a beating at a club he gets himself a gun. During a normal film night, Leo pulls a gun on Lenny and Kitjo. Leo berates Lenny for his life style, and expresses his disdain for his own life, feeling trapped in a dead end. Later Leo, in despair, hits Louise, and is threatened by her brother, Louis. When it happens again, Louise loses the baby. Louis takes a gruesome revenge by injecting HIV infected blood into Leo's body. Leo retaliates in an equally gruesome manner, shooting Louis in the stomach, then shooting off his own hand and letting the blood drip into Louis' wound. Leo then commits suicide.
Kitjo brings Lenny to Leo's funeral but Lenny can't bring himself to go. Life continues, and Lenny casually tells Kitjo that he has been offered a job in another store, but does not think he will accept as he has to change his routine. Lenny seeks up Lea again. They both seem shy towards each other, and have trouble communicating. Lenny asks Lea out a second time; the final image of the film shows them alone in the grill/bar where Lea works thus ending the film on a hopeful note.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence

Review:
'Bleeder' is a powerful and unforgettable movie comparable to the films of Gaspar Noe. Depressing yes, but highly recommended viewing..
As much as I enjoyed the super-hyped Dogma movies 'Festen', and 'Mifune', going by 'Bleeder' the real Danish director to watch is Nicolas Refn.
The movie's bleak and depressing world view is balanced by the bittersweet sub-plot concerning video nerd Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen), and his attempt to "get a life".
The scenes showing Lenny working in a to-die-for video store will make most film buffs drool!
Lenny rattles off the stores inventory in a funny scene, and the movie is full of film talk from Lindsay Anderson to Fred Williamson, and even includes clips from William Lustig's exploitation classics 'Maniac' and 'Vigilante'.
'Bleeder' is a powerful and unforgettable movie comparable to the films of Gaspar Noe ('I Stand Alone', 'Irreversible') and Gary Oldman's 'Nil by Mouth'.
Nicolas Winding Refn, the genius behind the excellent "Pusher" sets new standards for danish movies with his new opus "Bleeder".
Leo, played by the magnificent actor Kim Bodnia, is gradually going insane as his wife gets pregnant.
He feels his life fade away and asks himself how he can put a child into a world that's raw and how they can afford to have one.The atmosphere is two parts Scorcese's "Taxi Driver" and one part Franz Kafka's "Der Prozess", not very moody in other words.
The violence feels very realistic and is sometimes even hard to watch, it's like it all is happening for real.
The realistic approach makes this movie feel fresh and not like something you've seen before.
After I saw this movie I was left with an uneasy feeling in my stomach and I knew I've seen something very rear and very good.Nicolas Winding Refn is worth the highest of praise for making a movie like this.
And boy was it good.The tempo is a little slower than Pusher, but it really suits the movie.
But I feel it has more in common with John Cassavettes, than Abel Ferrara and Martin Scorsese that I think were refn inspirations for Pusher.The actors are brilliant all around, especially Mads Mikkelsen who does a fantastic performance as a filmgeek, with major problems when it comes to talking and being around girls.
And Kim Bodnia gives a really introspective performance that proves his status as one of europe´s if not the whole worlds best actors.All in all a very powerful, and intense movie that is a must see.
Packed with substance.I was very impressed with the acting.Since then, I've become a big fan of Refn, and I absolutely love the Pusher trilogy.Its a shame gems like Bleeder never get the recognition they deserve, but plastic hollow over rated Hollywood $hit does.Top film.
The gritty realism of that movie is in part recreated in "Bleeder", but instead of just treading water and doing a Pusher remake, this is much more stylish in its theme and cinematography (e.g. the main characters´ names all start with L; Leo, Lenny, Lea etc.
The scenes in the video store remind you of Clerks, but are not as funny, and a true movie fan would never mistake blaxploitation star Fred Williamson for Fred Williams (as mentioned in a scene between Bodnia and Mikkelsen), especially considering the hilarious scene in which Mikkelsen incredibly lists the video store´s selection of 50+ schlock directors.
I admit that Bleeder has a way of staying with you afterwards, but I had expected a bit more from Refn.
The director's debut, "Pusher", was an excellent tribute to American Cinema (Abel Ferrara, Scorsese) and a portrait of the drugworld of Copenhagen but "Bleeder" is much more personal, mature and grim film.
"Bleeder" is a movie that gets under your skin for days so check out this masterpiece..
This movie is dark and real.Its about a man who has nothing to live for.And it only gets worse.This is the movie that makes you think about how good your life actually is and that there is a lot of people who have it worse.Thanks to another great performance by Kim Bodnia this movie will stick with you for days..
N. Refn's 2nd feature is cutting it pretty close when it comes to assessing life's terrible lessons.Using almost the same cast as he did in his debut (Pusher), Bleeder tells the story of how a father-to-be deals with his impending fate.
The violence is necessary as the characters emanate from the streets and one can only infer, from the several scenes, that the neighbourhood is rough and littered with gangs and racial tension.There is also a secondary story about the budding relationship between a video store clerk and a well-read waitress which is as sweet as it is subtle.
When Nicolas Winding Refn gets Zlatko Buric, Mads Mikkelsen and Kim Bodnia together a good movie is a must.
Please, disregard narrow IMDb genre classification of the film as "Horror" or "Thriller" as it is the way the movie looks to some five year old child who has not understood anything seen.
His anger and self-hatred finally erupt into violence against Louise (plot).Nicolas Winding Refn, the genius behind many good films like "Pusher" and lately the best film in 2011 "Drive" write and direct fine film and present this in tow parts First in Leo character and his problem with his wife, Scend in Lenny character and how the filmgeek turn to a normal guy with girls.The actors are brilliant all around, especially Mads Mikkelsen who does a fantastic performance as a filmgeek, with major problems when it comes to talking and being around girls.
And Kim Bodnia gives a really introspective performance that proves his status as one of europe's if not the whole worlds best actors.The film was great and worth watching, i love everything in this film the conversation between the characters was great especially when they talk about films, the bloody scene well made by the staff ..
While I watched "Bleeder", I came to think of Paul Schrader's thesis, where he compared Bresson, Dreyer and Ozu. The reason was the humility of the characters.
While Louis (Levino Jensen) is a volcano, and Leo (Kim Bodnia) is a Volcano to be - because of his feeling of entrapment by his girlfriends pregancy - they fight there inner feelings, they are hunted by them and suffer, they dismiss life itself for momentary outburts of violence.
On the other side you have Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen) and Lea (Liv Corfixen), who are so alienated by an urban society, that they withdraw themselves into escapism - Lenny trough movies, Lea trough books.
That was why I thought of Bresson, Dreyer and Ozu.When "Bleeder" began I said to the film: Impress my, kick me in the nuts; just like "Pusher" did.
Where "Pusher" was an assault, "Bleeder" is seductive, like a slow drink.
When Leo realises what has happend; the loss of both Louise and his Child, plus his death, the takes control again; but in a way I won't tell.There is also a lovestory between Lenny and Lea, two shy and private persons.What does "Bleeder" a masterpiece is the acting.
Mads alienated himself for 3 month by working in a videostore and living alone and watching movies.
Liv worked in a diner for 2 month, and Kim gave himself so much, that he became Leo; after the filming stopped he commited himself to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.
this is something altogether better, richer and wiser.It`s pure movie magic.Here`s to Lenny and Leo, Lea and Louise..
I really wanted to like 'Bleeder' – a Danish thriller with a young Mads Mikkelsen and The Bridge's Kim Bodnia.
Therefore, by the time you've got the pay-off you've been waiting for it's all over.Now, I can hear the fans of the movie claiming that I hate films with slow build up that focus on character development and that the only movies I watch involve car chases and over-used CGI.
It's just in this case I felt everything that was good (and there was a lot of good) just seemed not enough when it came to the minuscule moments of 'pay offs.' I just sat there through one long drawn out dialogue scene after the next waiting for something that, when it did finally come, seemed like too little too late.There's also a romantic sub-plot that seems to be have been crowbarred in.
When it was all over I realised that his character (despite being one quarter of the film's protagonists) could probably have been omitted all together.Bleeder is a good film.
Nicolas Winding Refn has personally invariably proved to be a hit-and-miss director.
"Bleeder" starts off with a pacey intro reminiscent of Guy Ritchie type character introduction - here Refn introduces us by presenting the shoes of our protagonists strolling down the street - featuring pulsating techno music for the chaps and more romantic drivel for the women.From then on setting is formed, which seems like a poor man's "The Clerks" - not a reference to money given Kevin Smith debut feature was a no-budget flick, but to the fact that "Bleeder" consists of fickle, impoverished diatribes about films, which take place in a labyrinth video rental, in which one of the character Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen) works.
The senseless poorly drafted cinephile bickering thankfully doesn't survive the duration, slowly sifting into darker territory and focusing attention on key protagonist Leo (Kim Bodnia), who leads a worn existence, working at a dead-end job, now further distraught by the news that his wife Loiuse (Rikke Louise Andersson) is pregnant.
Whilst Leo is struggling with his invisible leash, where his manhood pride is striped and replaced with a domestic collar, his best mate Lenny remains engulfed by the world of film, unable even to reach out and entertain a relationship with Lea (Liv Corfixen), a waitress, who he quietly admires from afar.
Neither Leo nor Lenny seem capable of escaping their prisons, instead bleeding away their lives - Leo doing so literally.Refn reuses the same actors from the now cult classic "Pusher", mostly to good effect.
The first half or so is witty and makes you giggle (dialogues resemble Tarantino's movies), then the depiction of a trivial wife-battering becomes dominant and the other story-line (Lenny's and Kitjo's world) get less attention, although Lenny is the most peculiar and distinctive character.
As for the cast, the male stars are fabulous again, especially Mads Mikkelsen (probably the most versatile living Danish actor) and Kim Bodnia (I like him most in The Bridge though); female performers are less uninviting.
Bleeder is okay, but I liked the Pusher trilogy and Drive more..
A slow burning story about an abusive boyfriend, an over protective brother and a film obsessed video store clerk.Very gritty and a lot of times pretty disturbing which made this thing rock.
Some of the cast from The Pusher films are in this making it even more enjoyable.It was neat seeing how big the video store was.
BLEEDER is the follow-up to Nicolas Winding Refn's Danish debut, PUSHER.
I think it's a better film in every respect, even if it is less well known: the story, of family dysfunction and human relationships, is brimming with power, and by turns tragic, bleak, and ultimately devastating.The story sees Leo (Kim Bodnia, of PUSHER fame), attempting to adapt to family life when he finds out his girlfriend's pregnant.
Along the way, he continues uneasy friendships with the racist Louis, his girlfriend's brother, and Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen), a loner who works at the local video shop.
Of course things eventually become very dark indeed, and more harrowing and shocking than they were in PUSHER.Refn elicits some excellent performances from his cast, not least from Bodnia, who is quietly terrifying throughout this.
A glimmer of hope and humour comes from the presence of the outstanding Mikkelsen, who is my favourite character; the video shop setting allows for plenty of cultural references for film fans.
By the end, I felt like I'd done ten rounds in the ring: BLEEDER is that kind of film, and excellent with it..
With this film coming out several years after Pusher, giving Nicolas Winding Refn plenty of time to work on it, with basically the same cast as Pusher and apparently a bigger budget, I guess I expected more than this.
The film is about Leo, who hates almost everything about his life.
The directorial style of Pusher is still there, and this is what makes the film enjoyable and watchable.
"Bleeder" following "Pusher" is the second part of a trilogy.
Leo( Kim Bodina) gives a wonderful portrait of a disturbed man at odds with life.
Lenny lives in a fantasy world of films and videos and he can recite the names of all the directors.
Like I said before "Pusher" was engaging, and you were sucked into that world.
Nicolas Winding Refn has proved me wrong with a denouement so grisly, so gruesome, so nightmarishly plausible, I began to actually feel physically sick, disbelieving what I was watching.David Thomson once complained that Claude Chabrol was always turning the messy, emotional realities of life into crime melodrama, as if this was somehow a cop-out, a refusal of reality.
The vulnerability of the domestic and increasing psychosis of the alienated individual linked with gun culture suggests that maybe crime melodrama IS the only way to deal with reality.Refn, though, does everything in his stylistic power to show how unreal reality has become, in his story of Leo, an unattractive, overweight, brooding, ordinary guy whose lack of enthusiasm for his wife's pregnancy is compounded by her telling everyone, bringing home mothers she's met at laundaries, and replacing his stuff with frog-shaped lamps.
His only social life comprising of schlock-movie nights in with his friends, he decides he needs a gun to feel a resurgence of masculine power.Yes we're in the old FIGHT CLUB/THE BEACH oh-my,-poor-men-are-irrelevant sub-genre.
Instead of creating credible characters that grow in front of us, he introduces them over the credits with a name, sometimes a social relation (e.g. Leo's wife), and an appropriate musical leitmotif (pumping metallic techno for the lads; sensitive girly music for the ladies.The film proper opens in a huge labyrinthine video store, and the first conversation is an enumeration of film directors, classic and cult, amusingly slotted into value shelves.
Refn shares Kubrick's pitiless irony, the sacred strains drowning the techno, the mock-resurrection into the light after the horrific slaughterhouse scene.It would be wrong to say this film is enjoyable, but it paints a terrifying picture of contemporary Europe cut off from its own past (American culture saturates BLEEDER), yet repeating that past's mistakes.
This movie is stunningly beautiful to look at with long, fluid moving shots allowing you to observe the characters and the world they live in.
The style is operatic displaying great emotions – over the top, constructed, with arias and acts of violence - which is what Nicholas Winding Refn is particularly good at.
The plot follows the contrasting fortunes of Leo /Louise (Kim Bodnia /Rikke Louise Andersson) and Lenny /Lea (Mads Mikkelsen /(Liv Corfixen) in their bottom of the heap Copenhagen world far removed from the niceties of Finn Juul Danish modern.
Their friends include Louis (Levino Jensen), Louise's very loving but dangerous brother (a racist, violent thug to anyone other than Louise) and Kitjo (Zlatko Buric) who works in the video store with Lenny.
The four men – Lenny, Leo, Louis and Kitjo – spend much of their time watching videos – usually of exploitation stuff - but one of the driving forces of the film is how much Lenny (and Kitjo) and the director/writer love their movies.
Both are "innocent" of the world and its failings and Lenny doesn't participate in Louis and Leo's racist antics.
Lenny baulks at going to Leo's funeral (a sunny day, the first in the film – wonderful irony/luck for Refn who it is said filmed chronologically).
Human, compassionate and a wonderful note of sweetness ending a film which deals with very hard things – but that's where Refn is at this point in time (and Pusher 2 of course but that's another story).
Not an action film then (Lea will be relieved) but a character study of hard men in Copenhagen intertwined with a romantic love story about Lenny and Lea framing that central story of iron blood and death (Leo, Louise and Louis)..
Pusher in my opinion is one of the greatest gangster films of all time, superbly shot with incredible performances, a fantastic storyline and most of all completely realistic.
So it would suffice to say that Refn's second film should be just as good if not better, how can you top Pusher?
We have Lenny the quiet video store clerk who watches 4 films a day all of which are graphically violent and thats it, his life is film, Im guessing this is a reference to a traits of Refn's own character but then we move on to how these things can affect you with Leo's character, he has no outlet, the guys meet up once a week for film night and don't talk, Leo doesn't really understand film and why things are the way that they, he is growing increasingly disappointed witn his life and decides to buy a gun, he doesn't even know why - he needs an outlet.
There are some very nice shots of the video store and the book shop, a persons collection of fiction endlessly spanning into infinity.Whilst watching i put the slow pace and intense snappy diologue down to character build up and that when we finally see the violent revenge it would make me care even more for the characters, this was not the case.
because he could.There is no explanation the only thing i can say is don't expect it to be anything like pusher..
I had very high expectations of this film and probably because of that it was a huge disappointment.