HOW HEAVY THIS HAMMER
Contemporary World Cinema D: Kazak Radwanski. Canada. 75 min. Sep 13, 10 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 Sep 15, 5 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 4. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Toronto writer/director Radwanski follows Tower with another story of urban alienation, this time about middle-aged Erwin (Erwin Van Cotthem), who’s been drifting away from his wife and children to spend more and more time playing an online fantasy game.
Almost suffocatingly focused on its protagonist, who can neither articulate nor confront his issues but keeps pushing forward in an attempt to outdistance them, the film packs a lot of angst into its slim running time – but only by being immersed in Erwin’s world can we root for him to find his way out.