It is pretty rare that I see a movie in the theatre, although I always love it. The first few minutes of any movie are incredibly cool. They bring me back to the best parts of my youth, like watching 'Star Wars' with my family. Or watching 'Back to the Future' with my buddy Wayne and his little bro who had to sit on his lap because the movie was packed.
Last night I saw 'One Week' with Joshua Jackson. It wasn't amazingly, wonderfully awesome but it was a happy little movie. Jackson's character gets diagnosed with cancer and decides he needs to have an adventure so he buys a vintage motorcycle and drives from Toronto to Tofino. Along the way the film is an ode to Canada's landscape and over sized structures.
A couple things, in particular, struck me while watching this movie. First, if you have done this drive many times--as I have--it really bumps you when things are shot out of sequence. Although, you could argue that the road trip is a metaphor and complete continuity misses the point. But, seeing the 'Big Stick' arena located in Winnipeg instead of Duncan, BC was troubling. The other thing that occurred to me was that this movie isn't perfect. That's a bit of a duh statement, but it is more than that. This movie wasn't trying to be perfect. And it seems to me this is a real aesthetic of Canadian film-making.
If you ever watched an Atom Egoyan film you've probably seen this story telling aesthetic in action. They are vignettes of the lives of people that don't have the Hollywood story arc we are used to. There is no definitive climax, no clean denouement and no easy determination of a moral message. In other words, they are a bit more like life. This is strange for those of us raised on Hollywood blockbusters, but it is comforting as well. You don't leave the film excited, ready for battle or convinced your soul mate is in the vicinity of where you just happen to live. But you do leave quietly inspired about the beauty of life and resilience of the human spirit.
So, I give 'One Week' a worth seeing recommendation. Just be prepared for a Canadian experience and to leave the theatre not quite positive how you felt.
Nice. I'll have to check that out. The movie, I mean. I'm never, ever going to go to Winnipeg. Like any self-respecting person from one of Saskatchewan's two great urban centers, I have a cruel and unrelenting hatred for the 'Peg. So, fuck you Winnipeg!
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