After the screening I saw of HELLO DESTROYER at TIFF, the director, Kevan Funk (and many of the cast, crew, and producers) spoke afterwards. What I most wanted to hear was about this movie and its relation to Canada. A Canadian film about hockey cannot escape without either being, A) Extremely patriotic, or B) Providing a commentary about life in Canada. And being a dark film that focuses on the savagely violent side of hockey culture, HELLO DESTROYER proudly takes on the latter conversation. And who better to start the conversation than the filmmaker?
What stood out to me most was when Kevan Funk said, “I wanted to make a film that was aggressively Canadian.” This wording is perfect. HELLO DESTROYER is a brutal, brutal movie, and it’s honest and it’s Canadian, and these elements seldom come together. Funk succeeded in his goal of showing a violent side of Canada, and it makes sense that the brutality these boys experience escapes so many eyes; it’s hiding behind a full contact and aggressive sport. Hockey as we watch it is the violence we know in Canada, it’s seen as our one release from the polite, friendly stereotype we dawn, but it’s good to dig deeper into the real shit that exist underneath the sport, as Funk did with HELLO DESTROYER.
We follow Tyson Burr’s story in the movie. It’s extremely brutal and it’s hard to watch this kid suffer. The story takes on two acts, the first being the start of a darker sports movie, the second being the falling out and the aftermath that befalls Tyson. What I took away from Tyson Burr’s story, other than sadness for him and boys that are out there like him, was that it exists in such a Canadian way. This isn’t an American story, or a generalized sports story, this belongs to Canada and it’s done in a way I’ve never seen before in its brutality and honesty. Because of this (I have so much love for my country and when it gets to represent itself, especially in a movie) HELLO DESTROYER will resonate with me for a very long time.
After the screening I saw of HELLO DESTROYER at TIFF, the director, Kevan Funk (and many of the cast, crew, and producers) spoke afterwards. What I most wanted to hear was about this movie and its relation to Canada. A Canadian film about hockey cannot escape without either being, A) Extremely patriotic, or B) Providing a commentary about life in Canada. And being a dark film that focuses on the savagely violent side of hockey culture, HELLO DESTROYER proudly takes on the latter conversation. And who better to start the conversation than the filmmaker?
What stood out to me most was when Kevan Funk said, “I wanted to make a film that was aggressively Canadian.” This wording is perfect. HELLO DESTROYER is a brutal, brutal movie, and it’s honest and it’s Canadian, and these elements seldom come together. Funk succeeded in his goal of showing a violent side of Canada, and it makes sense that the brutality these boys experience escapes so many eyes; it’s hiding behind a full contact and aggressive sport. Hockey as we watch it is the violence we know in Canada, it’s seen as our one release from the polite, friendly stereotype we dawn, but it’s good to dig deeper into the real shit that exist underneath the sport, as Funk did with HELLO DESTROYER.
We follow Tyson Burr’s story in the movie. It’s extremely brutal and it’s hard to watch this kid suffer. The story takes on two acts, the first being the start of a darker sports movie, the second being the falling out and the aftermath that befalls Tyson. What I took away from Tyson Burr’s story, other than sadness for him and boys that are out there like him, was that it exists in such a Canadian way. This isn’t an American story, or a generalized sports story, this belongs to Canada and it’s done in a way I’ve never seen before in its brutality and honesty. Because of this (I have so much love for my country and when it gets to represent itself, especially in a movie) HELLO DESTROYER will resonate with me for a very long time.
