Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- bleak
- harrowing
- confrontational
- intense drama night
- danish cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics generally recognized a forceful, abrasive follow-up to Pusher, while some found its vengeance plot predictable and its secondary storyline padded.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Leo’s response to Louise’s pregnancy turns emotional withdrawal and self-hatred into violence against his partner.
Leo’s anger and self-loathing are intensified by his inability to face impending fatherhood and vulnerability.
Lenny’s video-store life and relationships form a parallel thread beside Leo and Louise’s collapsing domestic life.
The Copenhagen setting, criminal milieu, and unsentimental treatment of abuse create a grim urban atmosphere.
Films like Bleeder, and why
Pusher
shared stark crime drama, male violence, bleak urban atmosphere, and volatile antihero
Nil by Mouth
shared domestic abuse, psychological deterioration, and harrowing relationship drama
Romper Stomper
shared abrasive realism, criminal subculture, and destructive masculine friendship
Movie Details
- Director
- Nicolas Winding Refn
- Release Date
- 1999-08-06
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (223)
Cast
- Kim Bodnia
- Mads Mikkelsen
- Rikke Louise Andersson
- Liv Corfixen
- Levino Jensen
- Zlatko Burić
- Claus Flygare
- Ole Abildgaard
- Gordana Radosavljevic
- Marko Zecewic
Common questions
- What is Bleeder about?
- A volatile Copenhagen couple’s pregnancy exposes the rage and self-loathing beneath a young man’s fragile masculinity.
- What is Bleeder like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bleeder as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Bleeder violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Bleeder as brutal.
- What did critics think of Bleeder?
- Critics generally recognized a forceful, abrasive follow-up to Pusher, while some found its vengeance plot predictable and its secondary storyline padded.
- Which films are like Bleeder?
- Films with a similar feel include Pusher, Nil by Mouth, and Romper Stomper.
- How long is Bleeder?
- Bleeder runs 98 minutes.
