One Week

This is a reasonably good film, but it could have been much more. It gives a good cross country portrait of Canada, except for the lack of people that make it great. It’s the people Ben meets that are interesting. We could have met so many more interesting people in this film along the way, instead of the ubiquitous musical montage. There were so many I lost count. Another problem I had with the story is even though Ben is actively traveling across Canada, a lot of what happens to him is largely passive, and exactly the same as his life before the trip. He doesn’t seek out adventure, but instead just lets it happen. There are a few times where he pursues what he wants, and they are the best moments in the film. About the narration, I get why it was used, but I’m not sure it was needed. It felt like a crutch.