Heater (1999)

Ultimate Irony

It's freezing outside, two homeless men have one possession between them, a heater. The unfortunate thing is, they have no place to plug that heater in.

The two men Ben (Gary Farmer from Powwow Highway) and The Man (Steve Quimette) find a receipt in the heater's package and they're going to take a trip to a suburban mall to get a refund. That'll mean much needed money for both. They travel via the way of the poor, on foot, and they meet a series of truly interesting people from a nurse, a landlady, and several others.

Some help, some do not. "The Heater" is an interesting and ironic take on homelessness in Canada. I confess, I got the film for Gary Farmer, whose superb performance in "Powwow Highway" made me an instant fan. I'd like to say I loved "The Heater" or I got some great useful truth from it. The hard truth is it's heartbreaking and neither of the aforementioned happened.

Rebecca Kyle, July 2008 July 4, 2008

INFO...

This examination of the lower classes takes its two characters on a road movie the only way the impoverished can travel--on foot. This amusing societal study watches Ben (Gary Farmer - The Score, Powwow Highway, Ghost Dog) and The Man (Stephen Ouimette - X-Men, The Adjuster), two homeless men with only one possession between them, an electric space heater. Despite cold December weather, the partners are unable to use this modern invention to warm up since they have no outlet to plug the device into. What follows is a poignant and often hilarious chronicle of the two men's journey from the inner city to a suburban shopping mall, battling bitter cold, callous fellow humanity and their difficulty in clinging on to one another.... Full Cast List... Stephen Ouimette as The Man, Tina Keeper as Nurse, Joyce Krenz as Landlady, Gary Farmer as Ben, Sharon Bajer as Long Haired Woman, Jan Skene as Customer Service Rep, Wayne Nicklas as Large Officer, Martine Friesen as Social Worker, Arne MacPherson as Guy, Lee J. Campbell as Construction Worker, Seun Olagunju as Hip Kid Sales Rep, Clarissa Richards as Server 2, Mauralea Austin as Welfare Worker, Blake Taylor as Landlord, Jonathan Barrett as Boyfriend, Laurette Rouillard as Cook, Shane Davidson as Counter Server, Rick Skene as Security Guard, Terri Cherniak as Woman Manager, Garfield Williams as Young Officer. September 6, 2007

Very interesting film but not a masterpeice

Heater is indeed a very interesting Canadian film, but it isn't all that great.

Overall, the film isn't all that much and seemed to take two years to film (you can tell at one point, because we see Sat Dec 13). Also not to mention that the film is very provactive (containing like 40 F-words). What the film is about, are these two poor guys (one a homeless guy (Ouimette), another on the verge of becoming homeless (Gary Farmer)). Ouimette finds a heater one day and tries selling it out on the streets. When trying to sell it at the shelter he's kicked out with his new partner (Farmer) for like a day.

When Farmer finally suggests they return it (after discovering a receipt was tucked in the inner package), a barage of clumbsy acts occur. And then in the end the story ends rather sadly.

If you like documentry films, this movie is for you. If you like mystery films, you might want to pass or at least rent it first. February 13, 2007

good intentions, frustrating work

This movie succeeds at being challenging.

It tries hard to portray the lives of two homeless men in Canada. In that regard, the script doesn't flow and there are many shots of street intersections that did nothing for the film. This gives it a brush of realism, but it still makes it difficult not to turn the DVD off and return it to the video store.

The duo here is quite the odd couple. They have the fat man vs. thin man thing going like on "The Honeymooners" and "The Flintstones," but this work also adds differences in race and mental ability to the mix. In the United States, and perhaps in Canada too, disproportionate numbers of homeless individuals are people of color or persons with mental disabilities. It pained me to see the disabled guy show off his frostbitten feet. But still, when given the chance to get boots, he declines. I hated seeing the Native guy face racism from two police officers. However, his selective mutism surely didn't help him. I am worried that this character will reinforce oppressive and prejudiced ideas about fat men and Native men, and especially fat, Native men. Unlike most buddy films where the duo walks off into the sunset, this alliance is momentary as I imagine they would be in real life. The pair are constantly smoking. This makes sense as homeless people may need something to curb their appetites and as being homeless is stressful.

This film may be influenced by the American "Gridlock'd" featuring Tupac Shakur. However, it is slow and meandering. It makes one sympathize but equally frustrates the viewer. And perhaps, that was the goal. October 7, 2006

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