The Handcuff King

To fantasy-prone Esko, growing up in R?ytt? on the Finland-Sweden border in the 1970s, the links in his heavy personal chains are squabbling parents on the verge of separation, an aloof brother only concerned about his aspiring punk-rock career and ostracism by his buddies after a trick Esko plans on their hated Swede rivals badly backfires. Then a potential escape appears in Esko's unexpected friendship with Patrick, an affluent but semi-invalid Swedish kid, also lacking companionship. They share a summer making home movies, comparing their crazy relatives and practicing Houdini tricks. Winter is coming and with it a stark turning point in the two young lives. Be assured THE HANDCUFF KING has a padlock on being counted among such bluesy, bittersweet portraits of boyhood as “My Life as a Dog” (11th CIFF, 1987), “The Slingshot” (18th CIFF, 1994), “Odd Little Man” (25th CIFF, 2001) and “Sweet Dreams” (26th CIFF, 2002). (In Finnish and Swedish with English subtitles)