One Week

source: One Week

That's basically my Canadian response after watching "One Week", because I'm not sure what I'm suppose to feel. I don't want to give anything away, though. Maybe we're suppose to reflect on the value of life, just like Ben, the main character. The story begins with Ben discovering that he has terminal cancer. Even if he goes for surgery, he has a 10% rate of recovery, according to his doctor. The film shows us it has a sense of humour, as we get a quick fantasy sequence of Ben shooting himself in the head, while listening to the doctor. We're also introduced to a third person narrator, who occasionally likes to make witty remarks throughout the film. So, what's Ben to do? Well, he wants adventure. I would too, if I was told I had maybe a few years left to live. On the way home, he buys a motorcycle, and soon enough, he leaves his home in Toronto, along with his fiancée and family, to go west. Where west? He has no clue. It appears to me he's only going west because a Tim Hortons coffee cup told him to. But I guess it's the adventure that counts, right? As Ben travels, we get lots of nice Canadian scenery and music. Everyone he meets is nice to him, and always gives him some kind of meaning to his quest. Unlike Christopher from "Into the Wild", Ben at least stays in contact with someone from Toronto, and he doesn't live off the land. The narrator occasionally mentions him looking for Grumps, a character from a kids' book. It's suppose to be metaphorical, like Ben's looking for meaning in his life or something. I was liking this movie up to a point where it started to feel rather phony. I felt more like I was reading a script, with coincidental plot points simply to try and hold the viewer's interest. I can believe that Ben randomly finds the Stanley Cup in a hockey arena, but if you multiply a significant moment like that by six, I realize I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief. Sorry, I can do that for a wild action movie, but not for a down-to-Earth movie like this. Other scenes like the narration when Ben meets a nice person, stuff he randomly sees like a happy bride and groom, and the screen-fades-to-black-but-there's-more ending don't help, either. It's too bad because the scenery looks beautiful, the acting and dialogue are realistic, and I chuckled at the movie's humour. Ben is a likable person who just feels lost in his life, right now. Again, I'd sympathize if I had terminal cancer. In my review for "Toronto Stories", I mentioned one of the things I liked is that the characters' stories aren't sugarcoated. Unfortunately, that's what "One Week" feels like. It's a movie perfect for sale at a coffee shop, and that's not really my thing. To quote another IMDb reviewer, this movie is "Neither Fish Nor Fowl". It's merely an OK ride.

When the audience started to applaud after the movie ended I was surprised, but shrank it off as a tribute to patriotic sentimentality. Poor guy, poor family, lucky nurse, lucky XXL prairie woman .... Film is not awful. Just almost ... nothing, I guess. It was not a waste of my "Golden" ticket price. Don't know how the "Adult" ticket payers felt. You do see parts of Canada. You do like the characters and sympathize with their misfortune. You do understand the reason for Ben to do it. You want to believe that he could stay all this week in denial and has experienced what he wanted to experience. But then again - you are not sure you do.

When I heard about this movie I so wanted it to be a success but then I was devastated when I watched it even though I understand the budget restrictions.The allegedly terminally ill rider Seemed hail and hearty one moment and then occasionally keeled over; hmmm? The Norton Commando which is a beautiful machine with a lusty roar was made to look like a scooter with too much use of a telephoto lens. The director couldn't direct,rider couldn't ride and the photographer was useless; where was Lazlo Kovacs?. What happened to all those lovely sixties style shots close up to the roaring exhaust and the wheel spitting gravel as it takes off or a machine ridden exuberantly but gracefully through tight turns. What a missed opportunity to show the country. Why did the bike stop dead from dirty fuel; this is nonsense? In any event the Commando has two carburetors and they wouldn't fail simultaneously. Furthermore the carburettor being dissected on the kitchen table looked like it came from a Briggs and Stratton. What happened to British Columbia? What happened to the script. This film should be rewritten and re-shot.

Sure we like Slapshot, Mon Oncle Antoine and Duddy Kravitz because they are distinctly Canadian movies. We feel validated as Canadians because we happen to see Roll up the Rim, the Stanley Cup, and the Wawa Grey Goose on the screen. We do like that about this movie also. But the premise of 'One Week' is compelling regardless of setting: a young man learns he has terminal cancer, and suffers an existential crisis. He feels compelled to examine where he's going; suddenly he realizes that he's just drifting with the tide. This is not an unusual theme. To correct one fine point though, the protagonist, Ben Tyler, played by Joshua Jackson, doesn't have only one week to live, as some of the blurbs indicate. He's given around two years, but takes one week or so on a motorcycle journey across the country to try to sort things out. The dramatic tension in the movie develops as Tyler pushes further West on his bike, while the woman he is about to marry pleads for him to come home. This sets up a conflict between the unknown and a kind of certainty or finality, and the movie risks becoming one more cliché denouncement of middle class life. I felt it did admirably well in not falling into that trap. The tension continues to the very end with his wandering motorbike ride not really providing any ready answers. What makes the movie different from others of this ilk, and uniquely Canadian at that, is the importance of the Canadian landscape and how we seek to find meaning in our lives through our relationship with it. In fact, many Canadians go to extraordinary lengths to connect with what's around them. The ethos of this movie is similar to another Canadian classic, Water Walker, which is devoted to whitewater canoeing in the Pukaskwa. That movie was by and about Canadian legend, Bill Mason, who lived what some would call the Canadian dream. Mason also died, not very old, of cancer. 'One Week' presents a more reachable Canadian landscape represented by scenes like: the world's biggest hockey stick, the coulees around Medicine Hat, Alberta and the hiking trails near Banff. The journey seems a bit random, but at the same time this movie displays something closer to the landscape that most Canadians actually know: not quite wilderness but still untamed and certainly unruly. I've seen Water Walker at least half a dozen times, and I'll probably see this one as many over the years. It sounds like a cliché, but at this point I have to say, "instant classic". The theater was sold out tonight in Waterloo, Ontario. I think this movie touched the audience very deeply.

Reviewers and critics that love One Week all say the same thing "a beautiful piece of art", "perfectly Canadian", "the best piece of Canadian film ever made." Some of these reviews are a little over the top in my opinion. The film is absolutely worth seeing, it is touching and emotional and a great adventure in the same vein as perhaps a coming of age movie only for a twenty something man with a terminal illness. Canadians have this habit of immediately embracing and heaping praise on anything that tries to be completely Canadian and if that was the only requirement, One Week would be one of the greatest films ever made, but I review my films based on entertainment, and direction, and the overall style of the movie and not just what it tries to do. One Week will touch you and the story is terrific in a very subtle way. It won't blow your mind or really truly floor you but it's just touching enough to entertain. The perfect movie to relax too that just about any adult can enjoy because of the character involved and if you're Canadian you will no doubt appreciate the Canadian touch. I have always liked Joshua Jackson, from his Dawson Creek days to some other terrific films he has done since (watch the Horror gem Shutter.) Jackson is absolutely perfect for this role as the suddenly thrust into a life turned upside down by news of his terminal illness. There is something very subtle, emotional and deeply contemplative about his character. He makes the story even more watchable. I hope he gets a really significant break through in his career. His fiancé is played by Liane Balaban. I really am not sure what her character is supposed to be like. From first glance she seems to be a whiny, self involved girl who wants nothing more than to control her suddenly wayward fiancé. You feel very little sympathy for her being that you will connect to Jackson's character so much more. Their chemistry is non existent and she is only there to give Jackson's character something to contemplate and leave. The narration for the story really does carry the plot very well and helps move the story along. The narrator is deep voiced Campbell Scott and does a great job. The supporting cast that he comes across all do a good job but matter very little in the grand scheme of things as no one gets enough screen time nor stands out in any way. Canadian director Michael McGowan is sure to get a lot of acclaim for his work on this film. The movie is just chock full of all things Canadian including the much talked about "cameo" by the Stanley Cup which Jackson gets to kiss which few ever do unless they win it. Beautiful Canadian landscape and a decent story. But the film gets most of it's weight from that Canadian content and that doesn't necessarily make it the perfect film for everyone. Certainly it will leave a lasting mark on Canadian film and I think any person will enjoy it but don't expect it to really blow you away. The ending is rather abrupt although it's not like you don't see it coming. I just looked for a more moving ending I suppose. Still worth a rent for certain. 7.5/10

I was fortunate to get a free pass for this film. This definitely is a common theme but not "Canadian" as much as a typical "Torontonian" style indy. In other words the usual white upper middle class characters combined with clever and articulate dialogue/narration. I was half expecting to see a cameo with Don McKellar. Anyway, in spite of the anticlimactic ending Joshua"s performance was good enough to make the film bearable if not believable. Except for the obvious stock footage(and not in historical reference) the film also looked very good on screen, excellent cinematography. This may do well at film festivals especially those outside of Canada but I doubt it will be a huge success at the box office unless the marketing mainstream and online pays off.

This is what I call a real gem. I have just finished watching this movie, and I'm still thinking so deeply about it. I'm a travel fanatic, what would I do if I were to find out what Ben finds out about his health and destiny? Probably just the same. It's impossible not to think about "Into the wild" when watching this movie and make a comparison. Both film are great, in different ways though, this one is probably more into introspection, the story is more "pruned" when compared to the American movie, the characters met by the main man are different, calmer, probably less American. I loved everything about this film: the landscapes, the message, the characters (Sam is a good and kind hearted girl which deserves better in her life, the families are described as warm and loving), the literary quotations, the music, everything. A gem really not to be missed. And Canada, wait for me, I'll be travelling there some time in the future!

This movie was complete crap. Tried way to hard to be artsy, a Wes Anderson rip-off. The pretentious narrator became annoying very quickly as well as the crap coffeehouse music. It really wasn't realistic or believable that the lead character had cancer. Halfway through the movie you begin to actually want Ben to die just so this awful movie would end. The ending was even more terrible when you realize the annoying narrator is Ben.(Who looks nothing like his younger counterpart) This movie would have been one hundred times better if they cut out all the terrible actors and made a five minute nature documentary on Canada. Horrible movie do not watch, I feel way dumber after watching this.

A Canadian man discovers he has cancer. He buys a motorbike and goes to Tim Hortons to buy a cup of coffee. He rolls up the rim that tells him "Go West" - so he heads West. You start with a cliché and it doesn't stop there. Bike trip. Lots of open road, nature, etc. Postcard as a film. A tourism promo masquerading as a film. Meets a random stranger who also had cancer. What are the chances? Lots of Canada clichés. Meets some kids who ask him (of all people) where's the nearest Canadian Tire. Meets a cowgirl and goes horseback riding. Meets a girl and they have a moment by a campfire, singing French Canadian songs(!!). Random animals. Random forest stuff. He falls asleep and is awoken by a Native American drumming ritual. Token wise old native man? Check. So we've included nature, Quebec (folk song), Natives, nature, sunsets, cowgirls, forests, animals, nature, Tim Hortons, what's left? Swims in a lake. Oh, random German tourist couple tell him that Canada is beautiful. Oh, and he goes on a hockey rink and kisses the Stanley Cup. When people think Canada is an uninhabited country, just one large forest with a micro-population that's just enough to man the Tim Hortons outlets at truck stops, can you blame them? It's a postcard, not a film. It was one Blackberry and a maple syrup donut away from being a total joke. It's fake depth. There was nothing deep about the man or his experience. If someone made a Swedish film about a man who travels Sweden, stops at an IKEA, listens to ABBA, stops somewhere for meatballs, everyone would laugh. But that's exactly what this film is. There's more to Canada than forests. It's sad that Canadians don't want to show the world the real Canada. This is a sorry excuse for a film. It's an Instagram feed, a series of Vines with a loose narrative and a weak soundtrack. Fake depth, shallow emotions, sepia filters, lens flare and photos of sunsets, desperate and needy, asking for likes, shares and retweets.