11/07/2022 - Adam Sedlák’s drug tragicomedy evokes Trainspotting as a young dealer races against the clock to raise €5,000

“Don’t do drugs,” is the message that director Adam Sedlák conveys to his audience at the beginning of the screening of his feature film, BANGER. [+see also:
trailer
interview: Adam Sedlák
film profile], which had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section of the 56^th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Filmed entirely on an iPhone, the handheld, often shaky footage follows the odyssey of a young dealer and aspiring musician through nocturnal Prague.

According to protagonist Alex (Adam Mišík), he is only dealing in order to gather money to break into the music industry on TikTok. “No, you just spend it on clothes,” his observant girlfriend Sára (Anna Fialová) tells him. She is done with this relationship. Her early youthful escapades of sniffing coke are over, she has graduated from school and is aspiring to have a real job. Alex, however, is a high school dropout who sings about pissing on the rich and powerful, and childishly throws a tantrum in front of her boss.

While it is obvious to Sára and the viewer that this relationship has run its course, Alex clings to the idea that he can impress Sára by producing a so-called “Banger,” a song viral on social media, that would put his name out there and have everyone talk about him. But because his limited reach could do with a boost, he wants to enlist online star and rapper Sergei (Sergei Barracuda) to record this banger with him. Sergei’s manager offers them a deal: raise €5.000, and Sergei will record the song with them that same night. But they only have until his concert starts to gather the needed fee.

In order to raise this amount of money in so little time, Alex and his friend and producer Lád’a (Marcel Bendig) resort to those very methods Alex allegedly wants to leave behind. They have to sell coke, only there is simply not enough left to raise this amount of money. As any cheap dealer would do, the two start spiking it with an array of other drugs in their den — a decision that will come to haunt them later, after they have raced across the city to sell it all to rich bachelor party guests and willing bar patrons, as they try to make sure that nobody dies of an overdose of the explosive cocktail.

Their panic-driven odyssey through Prague is only remotely recognisable as such, as director of photography Dušan Husár keeps the camera close, in an almost intimate approach, to the face of his characters. The feeling of a bare-bones live stream pulls the film out of the trap of an overly glossy drug commercial. Sedlák, however, can’t resist making the high an experience of fun and adventure in the film’s first hour, even though us viewers know very well that the tide will soon turn on them. Lád’a takes up the role of the run-of-the-mill stoner, with his quirky comments and a seemingly endless tolerance for whatever substance is thrown at him. The somewhat stuck-up Sára comes with a bit of an eye roll, but that is unfortunately not the biggest shortcoming her storyline will present later on.

While BANGER. does offer a fun and ultimately sombre ride through the thrills and danger of drugs, the movie itself is very grounded in Czech pop culture, society and sensitivities, and while anyone can have a good time with it, not all of the jokes will unleash their full potential on a wider, non-Czech audience. A high-octane, heartfelt experience is nevertheless guaranteed.

BANGER. was produced by Shore Points and Czech Television, and is distributed by Bontonfilm.