One Week

I saw this movie years ago -- when people rented movies from movie stores. I rented it from Blockbuster. I have never forgotten it -- it was poignant and patiently told. I highly recommend it.

I loved the plot, and I empathized with the characters. The events ranged from mundane to tragic, as a young man reflects on the sexual choices he has made, all against the backdrop of the pique of romantic promise in a young person's life.

I'd love to see this movie, again, now that the prognosis for HIV patients has changed. Either this movie is, now, a time capsule revealing our feelings and attitudes about HIV a decade and a half ago, or people's fears and presumptions lag behind advances in HIV treatment.

One Week (2000), the independent feature film directed by Carl Seaton and written by Seaton and Kenny Young (II)(who also stars in the role of Varon Thomas) draws the viewer into the lives of an engaged couple. The working-to-middle class and genuinely ambitious Varon Thomas learns one week before his wedding to Kiya (played by Saadiqa Muhammed) that his name has appeared on a list of "previous partners" by a young woman who has tested positive for HIV.

This film takes the audience along on the rollercoaster ride of events and emotions that Varon and his friend Tyco (also on the "previous partner" list) go through in seven days when they both will receive their tests results. Varon struggles to tell his fiancee Kiya of the potentially life-threatening news as he struggles to keep his job and his sanity. Tyco (brilliantly portrayed by Eric Lane)is so fearful, he admits he doesn't want to know his HIV test results.

One Week essentially tells a tale of how easy it is for ordinary, basically decent, yet flawed individuals to be confronted with life-altering and life-threatening circumstances as a result of risky, yet all too common, past sexual behavior. The strength of this film is that it pulls off what no other film or public service announcement about STDs has managed to do thus far: convey a serious message about HIV and AIDS without preaching (thereby alienating its audience) and without reinforcing the stereotypical view that only Gay and intravenous drug users are at risk.

With a superb script and cast, this film is an entertaining, warm, and frequently hilarious story that manages to deliver a sobering and cautionary message without hitting its audience over the head or trivializing its serious subject. For this and many other reasons, One Week is a must-see film that offers a lesson in exemplary filmmaking while it delivers a valuable and timely message.

"One Week" is an Afro-Am flick about a working class man (Young) who learns his name is on a list of sexual partners provided to Public Health Services by an HIV+ person. After his blood test the film takes us one day at a time through an anxious and eventful week as he awaits the test results, prepares for his wedding, struggles with a promotion op at work, and much more. A technically poor flick with subpar directing, questionable acting talent, poor sound, obvious budget constraints, etc., "One Week" is a better public health service film than drama and not very good as either. (C-)

Note - The bare bones DVD I rented had no closed captions or subtitles.

This small obviously independent piece of filmmaking caught me completely off guard. It's a small budget film with an important message. The acting was superb and the writing was immediate and heartfelt. It defied the clichéd cinematic techniques so common today and it stuck by its literary guns, so to speak.

I enjoyed it immensely and would advise all film and fiction writing students to take a look at this unheralded film. This film would make a unique addition to any film buffs collection. and could also qualify as a great object lesson for would-be fiction writers, so like all great films it is important on two levels. for its writing and its filmmaking. This is simply a good piece of cinematic effort. It stands out.

I was so utterly impressed with this film, I ended up spending half the time holding my head in my hands and taking deep breaths to try to calm down. This film was made for $30K! That just blows me away. It is well-shot and has great acting, but what makes it so amazing is the film is written so well. Reading the summary, the film had the potential to be trite and cheesey, but the story continually avoids the contrived, usual developments we've all come to expect from today's films. This team of film-makers is a production company's wet dream. If they can make a film this incredible for $30K, imagine what they could do with a "normal" budget.