Copenhagen Cowboy

''Copenhagen Cowboy'' is a supernatural noir- thriller television series created by Nicolas Winding Refn for Netflix. The first Danish-language work by Refn since '' Pusher 3'' (2005), it follows Miu ( Angela Bundalovic), a renegade with various psychic abilities who goes on an unknown quest on Copenhagen's criminal underworld.

Series overview

A young enigmatic renegade named Miu, rumored to be a psychic that brings luck to her surroundings, revisits Copenhagen with an unknown motive. Navigating its criminal underworld, Miu encounters various adversaries, supernatural and otherwise, while meeting various individuals she grows to care about. Miu eventually encounters a threatening presence, Rakel, who has similar powers to her own.

Cast

Main

* Angela Bundalovic as Miu, a young mysterious psychic rumored to bring good luck.
* Andreas Lykke Jørgensen as Nicklas, a malicious young man who comes from a mysterious and affluent family, who is gifted with spiritual powers.
* LiLi Zhang as Jang a.k.a. "Mother Hulda", owner of a Chinese diner named "Dragon Palace".
* Jason Hendil-Forssell as Mr. Chiang, a notorious gang leader and casino owner who uses Dragon Palace as a body disposal site.
* Zlatko Burić as Miroslav, an independent lawyer who serves Copenhagen criminals as clients and has had prior contacts with Miu.
* Hok Kit Cheng as Ying, Mr. Chiang's second-in-command
* Fleur Frilund as Jessica, Flora's friend who is one of Miroslav's clients.

Recurring

* Liv Corfixen as older version of Miu.
* Lizzielou Corfixen as younger version of Miu.
* Lola Corfixen as Rakel, Nicklas' "sister" who has similar abilities as Miu.
* Valentina Dejanovic as Cimona, a female prostitute who befriends Miu.
* Adam Buschard as Aske, a professional hunter who is a loyal servant of Nicklas' family.
* Maria Erwolter as Beate, Nicklas' affluent and overindulging mother.
* Thomas Algren as Michael, Nicklas' affluent and narcissistic father.
* Dragana Milutinović as Rosella, a superstitious Serbian half-sister of André who houses his prostitutes.
* Ramadan Huseini as André, an Albanian pimp who runs a brothel under the pretense of a "modeling agency".
* Leif Sylvester as Arne, Hulda's regular customer who is a pigfarmer.
* Emilie Xin Tong Han as Ai, Hulda's daughter who Chiang took away from her as a collateral.
* Slavko Labović as Dusan, Miroslav's old friend who often shows brash personality.
* Ebiriama Jaiteh as Danny, a meticulous facilitator of a drug dealing gang.
* Nicki Dirschen Hansen as Polixen, Miroslav's contact who is member of a drug dealing gang.
* Gustav Hejlesen as Bjarke, Miroslav's contact who is a member of a drug dealing gang.
* Dafina Zeqiri as Flora, André's 18-year-old daughter.
* Per Thiim Thim as Sven, Rosella's husband through an arranged marriage.
* Daniel Sami Strandet as Dardan, one of André's henchmen.
* Thjerza Balaj as Ljiliana, one of André's prostitutes.
* Sandra Vukicevic as Mima, one of André's prostitutes.
* Neesha Dewa, Rahel Meconen, Lea Bach Nielsen, Isabella Kjær Westermann, Rose-Maria Kjær Westermann, Vigga Nue Møller plays other versions of Miu respectively.

Guest

* Nicolas Winding Refn as Jørgen, one of the drug dealing clients whom Miu meets.
* Mads Brügger as Jonas, one of the drug dealing clients whom Miu meets.
* Mikael Bertelsen as Steen, one of the drug dealing clients whom Miu meets.
* Hideo Kojima as Hideo, a fictionalized version of himself who is one of Miroslav's associates.
* Lina Brink Jakobsen as My Kin, Hulda's associate who provides new identities for Golden Dragon's employee.
* Dragana Dan as Mihaela, Rosella's friend who works as a seer.
* Ruiqi Xu as an unnamed pregnant woman.

Episodes

Production

Development

In July 2022, Netflix commissioned ''Copenhagen Cowboy'' as one of its Danish Netflix original series. Refn directed and executive-produced the series through his own production company, byNWR. Joining him as producers are Lene Børglum and Christina Bostofte Erritzøe. Sara Isabella Jönsson, Johanne Algren and Mona Masri were attached to write the series. In September 2022, it was revealed that Liv Corfixen would also produce.

Casting

On July 22, 2022, it was revealed that Angela Bundalovic was cast in the leading role, along with Fleur Frilund, Lola Corfixen, Zlatko Burić, Andreas Lykke Jørgensen, Jason Hendil-Forssell, Li Ii Zhang, Dragana Milutinović, Mikael Bertelsen, Mads Brügger, Ramadan Huseini, and Per Thiim Thim.

Filming

It was revealed that the principal photography of the series had already begun in Copenhagen, Denmark since 2021 through Refn's social media accounts. It wrapped on early April 2022, according to NWR's socials. Magnus Nordenhof Jønck was director of photography. Series editors were revealed on September 4, 2022, with Matthew Newman, Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Allan Funch joining the post-production team. Danish musicians, Peter Peter and Peter Kyed, reunited with Refn, having previously scored his earlier films, including the ''Pusher'' trilogy and ''Valhalla Rising''.

Controversy

Animal abuse allegations

PETA filed a complaint on December 9, 2021, accusing ''Copenhagen'' ''Cowboy'' production team of killing pigs during the filming process. It was revealed that they had a farmer that supplied pigs for the series, who in turn witnessed a pig shot and killed specifically for a scene. The death was confirmed by a Copenhagen Zoo correspondent and therefore brought an investigation by Danish police. PETA sent a letter to Reed Hastings, requesting the production team to cut a scene where the pigs are shot on the set.

Release

''Copenhagen Cowboy'' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, on September 9, 2022. The series was released on the platform on January 5, 2023.

The first trailer of the series was released on YouTube on September 4, 2022, and the second followed on November 23, 2022.

A making-of documentary titled ''Copenhagen Cowboy: Nightcall with Nicolas Winding Refn'' arrived on Netflix on January 31, 2023. In the documentary, Refn said:

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 68% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautiful and mystifying as an art installation, ''Copenhagen Cowboy'' follows in Nicolas Winding Refn's polarizing tradition of glacially-paced crime thrillers that exude stylish cool." On Metacritic the series received a score of 63% based on 11 critics, indicating “generally favourable reviews”

Jonathon Wilson of ''Ready Steady Cut'' gave the series 4/5 stars, praising Bundalovic's performance and the direction, writing "...in the limitless potential of its ideas and the striking strangeness of its execution, it'll live in the memories of everyone who watches it." Jasper Rees of ''The Daily Telegraph'' gave the series 3/5 stars, praising Bundalovic's performance, although criticizing its plot and direction, writing"It has no idea how to end other than to shrug and raise a single, massively irritating digit in the direction of the viewer." Charles Bramesco of ''The Guardian'' gave the series 3/5 stars, praising its cinematography, score, and symbolism while also criticizing its writing and direction, writing "Refn delivers something we’ve never seen before only after spending hours on more of the same, a slog leavened by scant enjoyments." Angie Han of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' similarly praised the cinematography while criticizing its plot, writing, "the project feels less like an intricately plotted Marvel blockbuster than some half-forgotten fairy tale."

Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com gave the series 2/4 stars, claiming that "Most of the ideas in ''Copenhagen Cowboy'' are underdeveloped, and Refn is repeating more than he is reinventing." Rafaela Sales Ross of ''The Playlist'' gave the series a C+ grade, saying " one is ever so inclined to indulge the filmmaker's predilection for the self-congratulatory, then ''Copenhagen Cowboy'' will work a treat. If the opposite is true, then buckle up, as this is about to be one wild yet extremely unpleasant ride." Austen Goslin of ''Polygon'' wrote, "Refn misses about as often as he hits in ''Copenhagen Cowboy'' — even if a few of those hits are home runs." Steph Green of ''Sight & Sound'' shared a similar opinion, writing, "''Copenhagen Cowboy'' will be manna for those partial to Refn's acidic, arcane films ... it's an overly languid journey, however visually striking it may be."

References

External links

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{{Netflix original current series

2022 Danish television series debuts
2023 Danish television series debuts
2020s Danish television series
Animal cruelty incidents in television
Chinese-language television shows
Works set in Copenhagen
Cultural depictions of gangsters
Danish action television series
Danish-language television shows
Television shows about cannibalism
Hive minds in fiction
Netflix television dramas
Superstitions
Television series about illegal drug trade
Television series about organized crime
Television shows about prostitution
Television shows about psychic powers
Television shows set in Denmark
Thriller television series