
A young junior hockey player's life is shattered by an in-game act of violence. In an instant his life is abruptly turned upside down; torn from the fraternity of the team and the coinciding position of prominence, he is cast as a pariah and ostracized from the community. As he struggles with the repercussions of the event, desperate to find a means of reconciliation and a sense of identity, his personal journey ends up illuminating troubling systemic issues around violence.... (Full plot summary below)
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A young junior hockey player's life is shattered by an in-game act of violence. In an instant his life is abruptly turned upside down; torn from the fraternity of the team and the coinciding position of prominence, he is cast as a pariah and ostracized from the community. As he struggles with the repercussions of the event, desperate to find a means of reconciliation and a sense of identity, his personal journey ends up illuminating troubling systemic issues around violence.
Leave your thoughts about Hello Destroyer.
| Toronto StarPeter HowellThe tragic cliché of the heroic hockey enforcer is explored with art and impact in this powerful feature debut by Vancouver writer/director Kevan Funk. |
| Globe and MailBrad WheelerThis isn't a traditional hockey film. In a sense, it's not a hockey film at all. Hello Destroyer shoots for more: A story of alienation, and of youth rudely interrupted and lost in the machine. |
| Dear Cast and CrewDi GoldingHello Destroyer reminds us of a sad truth; for some players, there are no glory days. |
| Audiences EverywhereNathanael HoodHello Destroyer is an essential piece of contemporary Canadian cinema. |
| NOW TorontoNorman WilnerWriter/director Funk's first feature after a series of solid shorts -- including 2013's Destroyer, which contained the seeds of this film -- is a strong debut, if a little heavy-handed. |
| Cinema ScopeAdam Nayman[Hello Destroyer] is constructed sturdily enough to stand up to any forthcoming scrutiny, and maybe also built to last in a way that most feature debuts simply are not. |
| Seventh RowBrett PardyHello Destroyer is a hockey movie where the drama is not in the game, but in how its violence has consequences that ripple off the ice. |
| Seattle TimesBrent McKnightDirector Kevan Funk presents an occasionally powerful, if slow-moving and overlong meditation on violence and toxic masculinity. |
| User ReviewF BA dark and beautiful story on the realities that outdated stereotypes and forced expectations creates. An honest and emotional journey I would recommend to anyone. |
| User ReviewJohn SHOCKEY NIGHTMARE IN CANADA Damp, grey concrete hallways lit by flickering, greenish fluorescent tubes, are the sad and depressing norms of junior hockey league arenas everywhere. They are but a rudimentary channel for the mindless cattle to shuffle to the icy killing field. As hockey movies go, this is no "Mighty Ducks". Filmed in dungeon hues, where nothing, and I mean nothing is ever presented in a good light, "Hello Destroyer" is a tough, brooding, slow, depressing slice of adolescent life, and perhaps, the most truthful film on the subject ever made. Anyone who's ever been privy to a dressing room screaming tirade from a demented coach will know. There's very little spoken - only groaned and grunted - as is customary in the Canadian junior leagues that is littered with hopeful, but immature athletes. Scholastics are not high priority here. Sporting a prisoner of war hair crop courtesy of the customary hazing ritual, Tyson Burr is a tough rookie, elbowing his way into the macho club clique, and stumbling quietly and dutifully through the only life he knows. Very few actually succeed at hockey, and Tyson's path is derailed quickly after an unfortunate on ice incident. Hung out to dry by his team, the sensitive teen's career, and life, now hang in the air. "Hello Destroyer" pulls no punches in dissecting the ruthless nature of a win at all cost sport, the pressure of dead-end careers in small town Canada, and the harsh barriers in an old school family that struggles with communication. A spellbinding and very important film. - hipCRANK |