I Am Thor (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

i-am-thor

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Are you familiar with the 80’s metal band THOR? Yes? No? Do you need some inspiration to never give up? Of course you do! Then you need to see the documentary about Jon Mickl Thor and his band called I Am Thor. It follows his attempt at a comeback over many years though the losses and the wins, the failures and the accomplishments the man was put through and got while keeping his dream of rocking alive. In this documentary, the history of Jon Mickl Thor and eventually of the band THOR is shown in clips and through retellings by the lead singer and those close to him. It’s at times uplifting, at times infuriating, touching and inspiring.

The movie starts with showing the public where Jon Mickl Thor came from, as a teen inspired by family to become a body builder to a young man working in a nude waiter bar, then as Elvis in a Vegas show, eventually putting together a band where he could rock and show off his physical capacities. Then we get to see the band being promoted all over the place to try and get it off the ground and popular which, for a short period, did happen. However, success was marred by people not wanting him to make it and by bad luck. From a kidnapping to his career taking a huge hit, Thor eventually went in a tailspin that led him into a deep depression. After getting back out of the darkness, he all the negativity only served to push him to try harder and make that comeback happen.

All his efforts to have this return in the spotlight, to be successful again feel as if for naught for a very long period. He loses band mates, friends, a wife, yet still tries to get his success. He eventually gets a bit of success in one corner of Europe where hardcore THOR fans eagerly await his return. This only pushes Jon to keep going, keep playing gigs, and keep making music.

This documentary is shot very simply, having almost a “made for tv” look yet it suits the subject matter and serves to show the reality of trying to be successful in rock music: It’s not easy, it’s not glossy, and it’s not all light shows and pyrotechnics. Thor may have taken inspiration from a God, from the name to the outfits to the hammers, but he is shown here as very human and much like anyone wanting, working towards a goal, with ups and downs. Some ups are very high like when they played Europe in front of crowds of adoring fans while some downs were very low like when his whole band dropped out mid-tour due to lack of funds.

The filmmakers behind this did not shy away from events and people that could reflect negatively on Thor, they embrace them, let them show how through it all, Thor never gave up. They show that some people also never gave up on him; others gave up but later came back. It all shows Thor as a generally genuinely good person, trying to do good, trying to follow his dream, a man of convictions who saw huge obstacles and beat them all down one by one. It must be noted that this is not a big VH1 or MTV production and it shows in the quality of the cinematography and of the sound, but it also gives the proceeding charm and connect with Thor’s personality. This is not a glamorous documentary but one made by a passionate filmmaker about a passionate man.

If all of this does not make you want to track this down and watch it, the music should as it is classic, hard rock/metal from the early 80’s that could have been hits. And a song about vegetables. How this makes sense in the grand scheme of things is something the documentary may or may not explain.