8 jours pour mon fils

At the start of this fact-based story, a group of young people are racing on a curvy highway, with loud music playing. Someone sees cops, and the whole group scatters. 19-year-old Joe is not supposed to be driving (though that didn't stop him from racing).

Joe finds out he is getting his driver's license back. This is an opportunity to go to a party at his friend Evan's house. He will have to drive all night, but he promises to keep in touch and to return home by Monday. One problem: his girlfriend Patti, who he works with at a grocery store, wants him to spend the night while her parents are away. And not only does he gets a late start, Joe does leave his cell phone at Patti's house.

Our first clue something is wrong: Joe nearly hits a boy standing in the road. He gives the boy a ride, and then we don't hear anything from him for a while.

Joe's parents Teresa and Tim get a call in the middle of the night. Evan sounds high, but he knows Joe never showed up.

Teresa goes to the cops but they don't think it's time to declare Joe missing. After all, he said he'd be back Monday. Teresa then takes the day off work to go search for Joe; she does know he has an online friend Lucinda in a distant town called Chasm. Tim has been out of work, so when he gets a job interview, that has to take priority (he's not that worried yet). Joe's teenage sister Becca is pleased to get a day off from school, and she goes with her mother and provides comic relief. Joe's brother Will stays home in case there is any news.

Lucinda doesn't seem to know anything, but we get to see ominous flashbacks suggesting she knows more than she is telling.

Teresa and the family put up flyers and get the press involved. The police reluctantly start searching. We find out information about Joe very gradually (mostly through more ominous flashbacks), and so do those searching. If Joe is really lying beside the road, one person says he has eight days to live. So just in case, someone had better get to work.

At first, I wouldn't have said there was anything particularly distinctive about this movie. But as the search really gets under way, probably halfway through the movie, there is much more suspense and excitement.

Michael Eklund, who reminds me of a character Brad Pitt once played (at least I think that's right), gives the standout acting performance, though that's not really saying much. Weaver is a drug dealer and Lucinda's boyfriend; he seems pretty messed up.

The actors playing a couple of the cops are also quite good, at least for this movie. And while Kelly Rowan seems merely ordinary most of the time, I have to admit she had a couple of heartbreaking scenes. She must have called on a real tragedy or personal loss in her life.

There is one moment that isn't a sign of quality, but rather a familiar cliché. Anyone who hates the behavior of the press in these situations should be happy. One vulture, not worthy of being called a journalist, asks Will a completely inappropriate question. The man should get out of the news business and go into reality TV. Will's reaction is enjoyable.

This was satisfying, eventually.

I don't think the story itself was that remarkable, so they had little choice but to pad it out. Unfortunately, it drifted off into so much fiction, it left little but the main concept (boy stranded for 8 days) of the actual story.

In response to the other reviewer who said the weather was warm there, it dropped to 2C (nearly freezing) at night, according to the CBC news account.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/05/30/bcteen_010530.html

I would like to have seen more of young man's struggles during this time. The bears and wildlife would have been an interesting element to add.

Nineteen-year-old Dustin Milligan (as Joseph "Joe" Spring) likes fast cars and fast women. He's reckless behind the wheel, but mother Kelly Rowan (as Teresa) thinks Mr. Milligan has become a "good driver" now that he's back on the road, after losing his license for six months. Milligan wants to take the car out to a party for the weekend. While they have some reservations, mother Rowan and father Shawn Doyle (as Tim) disagreeably give him permission to make the trip. However, he loses his cell-phone during a pre-trip sex date and doesn't call home as promised. Rowan calls the police, but they can't declare Milligan a missing person right away. Beginning the investigation on their own, the family soon discovers something has gone terribly wrong...

"Inspired by a true story," according to the introduction, this starts out as a very believable drama. Milligan is convincing as a good looking young man interested in sex and cars. Rowan is fine as his increasingly frantic mother. For a supposedly true story, there are some notable problems, however. Matthew Matheson (as Powell River) plays a young boy who stands in the middle of an oncoming car – this suicide attempt (?) and his later solo (?) trip to the police station are not credible. Younger (?) siblings Tegan Moss (as Becca) and Ryan McDonell (as Will) seem older. Perhaps most puzzling is a crash victim's exposed body not attracting wild life. Still, director Norma Bailey and the crew manage to keep the story engaging – and the music is terrific.

****** Eight Days to Live (4/2/06) Norma Bailey ~ Kelly Rowan, Dustin Milligan, Shawn Doyle, Tegan Moss

Really great movie; Good job CTV for making movies like this. Families need more movies they can watch together. This was perfect to watch with your teenagers...some real emotions were shown. I really didn't expect to watch the whole movie, but it really hooked me; I cried, laughed and was on the edge of my seat. It was very realistic, some great scenery of our West Coast. Loved the actors in it... Ryan McDonell especially, who played the older jerk of a brother, but had an emotional breakthrough in the end played his part so well. Would love to see him in a lead role soon! I would highly recommend this movie to anyone...I would love to see it again as well. I'll keep my eyes open for it.

I found this film very absorbing in its motive and writing. Whether based on facts or not, it was well done. Directed well by Norma Bailey whom I trust had a lot to do with the fine casting. Paced very well by writers, David Fraser, Peter Smith and Greg Spottiswood. Acting was exceptional with Kelly Rowan and Shawn Doyle as the parents of the boy who became missing. Doyle underplayed beautifully in support of Kelly Rowan who played the lead. I loved her acting but hated her hair. What woman on a rescue mission would travel with her too long hair covering her face. Realistically there is much underbrush, bad weather and such in the way and she's running around with these too long tresses for a woman of her age blowing in the wind. Annoyed me very much and took away from watching her. Even the daughter played by Tegan Moss, had the sense to have her hair pulled back out of her face. Both she and Ryan McDonell played the siblings of our young man, Dustin Milligan. They were excellent in the roles, well cast. Katherine Isabelle plays the floozy who misleads our hero. Not a very interesting role and not the greatest acting was needed. Just to look bored through it all, no heart, and she did that. Michael Eklund was her cohort in evil and overplayed a bit. But then, there are really people like that out there. My favorite in this, although they all were good, was Gwynyth Walsh as the helicopter pilot who broke the rules to help find the boy. I had seen her earlier in Her Only Child where she played an overbearing mother possessive of her only daughter. She played such a different role in that which definitely shows this actress's versatility. She was wonderful in a small role in this.