One Week (2008/I)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Michael McGowan

Writer:

Michael McGowan (writer)

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (Canada)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

What would you do?

Plot:

Chronicles the motorcycle trip of Ben Tyler as he rides from Toronto to Tofino, British Columbia. Ben stops at landmarks that are both iconic and idiosyncratic on his quest to find meaning in his life. |

Plot Keywords:

Motorcycle | Landmark | Motorcycle Accident | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Time As Title

Cast

Joshua Jackson	...	Ben
Liane Balaban	...	Samantha Pierce
Campbell Scott	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryan Allen	...	Orderly
Jim Annan	...	John
Chris Benson	...	Mayor
Jodi Brooks	...	Nurse Forrester
Caroline Cave	...	Nancy Tyler
Jim Codrington	...	Pharmacist
Gord Downie	...	Biker
Kyle Fairlie	...	Oscar
Colin Fox	...	Father O'Neill
Ulla Friis	...	Steffi
Chief Leonard George	...	First Nations Singer (as Leonard George)
Emm Gryner	...	Tracey
Gabriel Hogan	...	Derek Vincent
Deirdre Kirby	...	Mrs. Bell
Grace Lynn Kung
Michaela Mann	...	Waitress
Gage Munroe	...	Young Ben
Chad Nobert	...	Badlands Tour Guide
Joel Plaskett	...	Busker
David Reale	...	Pete
Fiona Reid	...	Mary
Ryan Reid	...	Max
Chuck Shamata	...	Gerald
Marco Soriano	...	Concierge
Peter Spence	...	Doctor
Jane Spidell	...	Fran
Marc Strange	...	Art Carey
Richard Waugh	...	Baseball Coach

Also Known As:

Sept Jours (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

Canada:94 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Mulmur Feed Co.

Trivia:

The Stanley Cup is adorned with small plaques of the players and staff of each championship team. The plaque Ben kisses is that of the 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs, which is referenced earlier in the film as a the beginning of a notorious championship dry spell for Maple Leaf hockey fans.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ben takes a picture of the German couple, the woman is holding one kind of champagne. And on the paper picture shown afterwards, the champagne is of another label.

Quotes:

Narrator: When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold on to them. They are the life boats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely illusive. So the question becomes, or should have been all a long...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Manufactured Landscapes (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Great Escape

Worth Seeing

I just arrived home from seeing this film and I am very glad I went. If you get a chance go see it, or rent it when it comes out on DVD, I highly recommend it. I feel that One Week manages to be a thoughtful yet crowd-pleasing examination of a somewhat cliché expression without being overbearing or preachy... there are also some very very funny moments. The film uses celebrations of Canada, ranging from quirky to touching, to help weave around and through the big question/quest. Is it uniquely Canadian? Well I think in many ways "Canadian" is a moving target, and the elements of Canadiana used in One Week are strongly tied into the traditional ideas of Canadiana - the defining role that the natural environment has played in the personal and collective development of the nation. The vastness, beauty and wildness, and the beckoning of the unknown. Scenery aside, no matter who you are the story is one of an emotional journey one that some may recognize more than others and that all can understand and appreciate. Having said that I think the internal reflections and questions the film poses will make it resonates especially well with those who have experienced solo travel.