Copenhagen Cowboy

Ambitious miniseries with beautiful shots throughout and atmospheric lighting. The neon lights, production value and overly long silences were the highlights of the series. I was pulled into a strange world where I absolutely couldn't tell where it was going. The first two episodes require patience, however once you are into the story, Copenhagen Cowboy is something new and engaging.

The colours and cinematography are beautiful in a harsh environment. It's slow - sometimes very slow - but once you enter the meditative state, it makes sense. Though it has dark storytelling and violent characters, there's ample of hope and kindness involved as well.

The technical brilliance in the direction, cinematography and score can't really be denied. The reliance on specific shots - static camera, 360 degree pans, slow zoom is highly effective and everything is calculated to build maximum tension.

However, I feel like, it could easily have been a 2 hour film instead of a miniseries as it would've been fast paced and wouldn't even miss any story elements.

Fortunately, that means all 6 episodes of 'Copenhagen Cowboy' are gorgeous to behold even when the narrative is seemingly skimming the borders of interesting areas to explore (and subsequently explain).

Anyone familiar with the director's oeuvre will know what to expect, but he still manages to bring something fresh to each episode with trademark camera flair. Tracking shots and slow pans are good, and I particularly liked his use of the 360 degree camera; it stylishly captured conversations, environments, and specific events with a smoothness that lulled you into acceptance of the show's pacing.

I'm not sure I understood everything the story was trying to do, especially in the final episode where it took on more Lynchian dreamlike qualities with supernatural flourishes, but there was always good moments sprinkled throughout, and the visuals were never less than stunning. Neon-drenched might sound cliche, but it's apt for describing Winding Refn's affinity for lighting a scene with almost otherworldly bluish hues and moody reds. Combine this with a synth score that always seems to be evolving from episode to episode and it's hard not to become enraptured by the audiovisual experience on offer. It's a tidal wave of style, so just sit back and ride it, basically.

So the cinematography, soundtrack, and stately pace are all signature elements of the director, but what about the ultra-violence so common in his work? It's graphic on occasion, but nothing like we've seen before. However, the fight sequences, though brief, are great. The choreography is simple, elegant, and augmented by the sound design, while the characters fight almost robotically. It's different, but also effective, and suits the characters involved as they are all quite emotionally reserved. Plus that final fight in the finale is arguably one of the most stylish sequences I've seen for some time; the way the sound design is integrated and the way the lighting enhances the framing is glorious.

Overall, 'Copenhagen Cowboy' leaves its narrative wide open for a second season it probably won't get, which is a shame, because even though I didn't love this, there's much to like, and certainly room to improve. Nicolas Winding Refn shows off everything that makes him a uniquely stylish director in the industry, imbuing every frame with something entrancing to soak in and showing real quality with use of camera, and though the story needed more work, there's few series's out there that look and sound this good.

7/10.

It's great, and rare, to be presented with a TV show that leaves you wondering for hours and days afterwards if it's any good. This is something to be cherished, especially in an entertainment world chock full of formulaic drabness built on algorithms, fan service and commercialism.

Copenhagen Cowboy (a terrible title to be fair), even more than Refn's divisive Only God Forgives, is a death dream with a very loose narrative woven together with a smorgasbord of ideas and styles inspired by the mysticism and folklore from multiple cultures. It's a dizzying and head-scratching six episodes to which it's pointless to try to ascribe too much plot or even thematic analysis. Some will argue that there's just not enough going on to justify any sort of runtime longer than 90mins but the fact is that anyone who hates this is a series would hate it just as much as a movie.

It's at points breathtaking to behold, and utterly infuriating at others. The reliance on specific shots - static camera, 360-degree pans, slow zoom - is highly effective at points and annoying at others - but everything is calculated to build maximum tension and suspense, and serves to really bring the few scenes that aren't filmed in this way to the viewer's attention as being significant.

The technical brilliance in the direction, cinematography and score can't really be denied, even if it's not to your taste. Every actor is riveting, especially Angela Bundalovic who as the enigmatic Miu delivers a movingly minimalistic, affecting, and extraordinarily physical performance in spite of her diminutive size.

Love it or hate it, Copenhagen Cowboy is an experience. It's not style over substance - the substance is by and large the style itself, so if the style isn't for you then you'll certainly find yourself at sea. In coming to a conclusion of whether I liked it or not, I realised I could only think of a couple of people I'd recommend it to. And because those people are my favourite people who I trust the most, I figure it's something I definitely liked and enjoyed. Go make your own mind up...

The first two episodes require patience, however once you are into the story Copenhagen cowboy is something new and engaging.

The colours and scenery are beautiful in a harsh environment. It's slow - sometimes very slow - but once you enter the meditative state it makes perfect sense.

It's also a huge contrast between the main role - an alien like altruistic girl vs killers, gangsters and hedonists.

Copenhagen cowboy do have som references to films like Hannibal (brutality and pigs eating people dead or alive), Drive (colours, music and scenery) and David Lynch in general, including the ufo theme from the last tween peaks series. That said, this series adds something new to the table and is a positive surprise. Netflix really tries to be creative and innovative. Kudos.

The direction of photography does an excellent job with the lighting of the scenes .. Some of the viewers may find it to heavy for the eyes , too much neon , but this plays a role in these scenes...The evolving of the story of a young girl spinning round the ugly world of drugs and human trafficing , is slow , but on the other hand the emotions you get while watching the episodes fullfills the viewer.

I was too sceptic about starting the series , it is a sad story that comes from the darkest places of our world... As an amateur photographer i saw a lot of things coming out the viewfinder of the camera , pay attention to the static scenes , on a single face , or a wide plan with a lot of people ..like time freezes for a while.