How Heavy This Hammer
Year: 2015
Country:
CANADA
Run Time:
75 minutes
Life is sliding away from Erwin, a married, middle-aged father of two sons who’s content to waste his days in front of a computer game or fall asleep during family outings. A closed book of a man, he’s unwilling to discuss his laisse-faire tendencies when confronted by his patient wife. But while his dimming joie de vivre is the center of HOW HEAVY THIS HAMMER, director-screenwriter Kazik Radwanski’s sharp use of close-up angles in this character study invites you in to places where Erwin has long faded out. The few sparks of joy he does exude—usually revolving around rugby, beers with his buddies, and childish pranks—shed a glimmer of light on the man he could be. With a perspective as inescapable as the claustrophobia Erwin feels in his everyday life, the camera’s fixation follows him through moving to his own apartment, stumbling through half-hearted dating, and experiencing his shifting relationship with his children. We’re relentlessly tethered to him throughout and, in the midst of crisis, we can’t help but feel a heart-wrenching compassion for a family trying their best to put the pieces back together. –N.D.
CIFF40 Screenings
Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 9:35 PM
Friday, April 01, 2016 at 2:20 PM
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Close-ups Draw Audience In to Radwanski's Characters
Director
Kazik Radwanski
Filmography
"Tower" (2012), HOW HEAVY THIS HAMMER (2015)
Producers
Dan Montgomery, Kazik Radwanski
Screenwriting
Kazik Radwanski
Cinematography
Nikolay Michaylov
Editing
Ajla Odobasic
Principal Cast
Erwin Van Cotthem, Kate Ashley, Seth Kirsh, Andrew Latter
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