Hot Docs

“I’ve seen so many examples of what happens to men who can’t ask for help.” Kalle, a 40-something seemingly successful IT trainer and single father, finds himself struggling with the same things his father struggled with in the 1970s in this last doc in director Visa Koiso-Kanttila’s trilogy. Like the previous two films, Portrait of a Man intimately and sensitively explores a Finnish man’s role in a changing world. A combination of divorce, single parenthood, and alcoholism contributed to Kalle’s father’s suicide. Kalle is the same age as his father when he died, and he’s in crisis; he doesn’t want to end up like his dad. Kalle starts therapy and the painful process of reconciling his family’s legacy; the film takes us right along with him on this emotionally powerful journey. Portrait of a Man is a poignant depiction of how contemporary man can break free from traditional behavioral patterns. - Shannon Abel

Media Coverage

BlogTO (Capsule Review), Eye Weekly (4-star Review), Eye Weekly (Capsule Review)