One Week

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.

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 was a well crafted movie that gave detailed opinion of what goes through the mind of theses guys that come across contact with AIDS. The people acted well and is a must see for anyone looking for a movie with truth. Wouldn't you like to confront that evil person too. This movie gave you its all and made you think.....yeah, I'd probably do that too.

I did not expect much from this film, but it ended up impressing me. The actors and actresses did quite an amazing job and the plot never left me bored. Like I said, I did not expect much from it, but I found myself glued to the TV until the very end. It is a real movie about HIV hitting close to home, people dealing with the repercussions of their sexual choices all while hitting them at the complete wrong time in life when there is a marriage about to take place and people having to face the results even when they think it could never happen to them. This was a very low budget independent film, but did not feel like it at all. My only complaint is that I wish I had seen it sooner and it makes me sad that movies as good as this get left off of the radar for main stream Hollywood.

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.