Product Details

• Actors: Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, Campbell Scott
• Directors: Michael McGowan
• Format: Color, DVD, Import, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001YMDCE4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,485 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "One Week" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Ben an aimless young school teacher who learns he has cancer a few weeks before his marriage to samantha. The fortuitious intervention of a used motorcycle and a tim hortons coffee cup advising him to go west young man. Inspires him to set off accross canada from toronto to britich colubmia. Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 03/29/2011 Starring: Joshua Jackson Run time: 94 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Michael Mcgowan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great film, decent Blu, June 26, 2009

By 

Steve Kuehl "SLV Video" (Boulder Creek, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Week [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I am not Canadian, nor is my store in Canada, but I still thought this was a great Canadian travel film. This was one of the more realistic cancer films I have seen in a bit, and (I feel) not worthy of the hate club that campaigns against it.

Simply put, it is a film about a man who travels across his country after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Like other good travel films, we see a sampling of the beautiful country that Canada has to offer, we encounter every-day personalities of people along the way and we learn a few lessons about ourselves and what life might be about. The difference here is that we get a insightful narration by Campbell Scott (most recognized of late with his role in Phoebe in Wonderland), which in itself provided some nice laugh-out-loud moments.

I laughed at unexpected moments, saw some incredible Canadian scenery, and did not feel anything was contrived or cardboard (as most complainants have stipulated). The special features give this four-star film a five. The low-def "Making-of" contained just the right amount of logistical material on production, the commentary and interviews provide plenty of information for the followers and the remaining HD gallery, after party and trailer add just the right amount of extras to show the fun side of this film.

The Blu quality is slightly better than the DVD, but there is still plenty of grain and and (very minute) random artifact. The grandiose panoramas could have been a bit clearer, the DTS was never fully utilized, even with the plethora of songs, but the presentation was still adequate. Not a reference Blu, but the film and special features make this a higher rating.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waking up in the Canadian Ethos, June 26, 2010

By 

Richard R. Powell (Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Week (DVD)

Ben Tyler discovers at the beginning of the film that he has a short time to live and despite the urgings of his fiancee and family to enter treatment immediately, he heads out on the road on a motorcycle. He takes photos of himself at man-made and natural landmarks, he meets people along the way who give him insights such as "if you need to ask if you are really in love, you aren't," and "I work the ranch without making enough money because there are other kinds of payments."

The other kinds of payments are hard to put into words. Things like being in contact with the wide open beauty of the land, or surfing, or enjoying the company of others.

It is a complex film that captures the feeling of settling for second best, of believing what people tell you about yourself, and then discovering they were wrong.

As a Canadian I identified strongly with Ben's journey. He has a romantic core, wants to instill some passion in his bored students -- but fails; he is unassuming and undemanding and states that if he could read the paper and drink coffee with his fiancee at their favorite coffee shop for the rest of his life, that would be enough; and Ben's journey is realistic -- the most danger he encounters is getting drowsy and skidding out of control on a squashed skunk. He wakes in the ditch with nothing broken and tries to dance and celebrate, but that is not his style. He is uncomfortable with too much outward exuberance. The real story is going on inside.

Ben is perhaps not a typical Canadian, but he is "my" kind of Canadian, and so I was cheering for him - quietly, in my head, while I sipped tea and though of having a Tim Horton's donut. You see there is a kind of rebellious streak in Ben that I like, he is finding his identity after all, but his rebellion leads towards insight, not violence or crime or block busting. He takes the world as it is, noticing, accepting. Even if the giant chair or moose or giant "whatever" is less than wonderful -- he smiles at them.

There is a self deprecating humour about all this, a kind of "lets not get too excited -- or too disappointed" attitude that sounds boring when you say it, but works so well in the film -- and in life really. Life is what it is, after all, even with cancer. So in good Canadian style Ben wakes up (literally and metaphorically) and goes home to his family.

If you like intelligent films in which each frame has a poetic thoughtfulness, this movie will hit the mark.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, peaceful, enjoyable film., April 4, 2011

By 

Mike (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Week (Amazon Instant Video)

This was a great movie to stumble onto, thanks to Amazon's free Prime streaming. It's a great, scenic, peaceful, thought-provoking movie with good acting from the main character. And a nice motorcycle, to boot!

I found it well-written, with very little cruft, and without being overly dramatic. There is some great, understated humor - altogether, it strikes me as a very Canadian film :)