ROKUMENTTI: I Am Thor (2015)

Ryan Wise:

I Am Thor (USA/Canada, 2015)

84 min. • English

No age limit

Theme: Rokumentti Selection

If He-Man, heavy metal and baby oil are close to your heart, you will also madly fall in love with Jon Mikl Thor. This man is a Canadian legend of muscle rock and a true god of thunder, but unfortunately only a few people are aware of his existence.

He was a bodybuilder before embarking on a career in music. There was nothing average about his concerts: the acts included blowing hot water bottles till they burst and bending sheets of iron with teeth. It is inexplicable why Thor was never appreciated by the big audiences in the 1970s and ‘80s, during the golden era of theatrical stage rock with the likes of Kiss and Alice Cooper.

In addition to his modest success, Thor’s career has been shadowed by problems with managers, cancelled tours and an extremely confusing kidnapping incident. The defeated muscleman withdrew from fame for nearly a decade to lead the life of an ordinary aging mortal with a pot belly. However, a burning passion drove him to take the stage again and try his luck once more in the show business. The director Ryan Wise followed Jon Mikl’s comeback for nearly a decade and a half and his attempt to finally break through, resulting in a sympathetic story that reveals the man behind the hammer.