In the lead up to the 7th Canadian Film Festival in Australia (August 2012), join us as we countdown the Top 100 Canadian Films of the past 30 years. We'll be posting one film a day leading up to Canada Day on July 1st 2012. Do you agree with our team favourites? Let us know your thoughts!
Only is a delightful film that follows two kids and a life changing day they spend together.
Daniel is an only child who lives at his parents’ motel in an isolated area of Canada. He’s not happy about having to help his parents out around the motel, and he appears to have no friends – the tough local kids pick on him and harass him to steal alcohol from the motel.
It’s not long before Daniel finds someone he can relate to, though. One day, a family staying at the hotel have a domestic outside their room. Their daughter, a young girl about his age, walks off to the motel pool. Daniel follows her and, finding her floating in the water, startles her to get her attention. After a bit of initial squabbling, the pair take a walk through the snowy forests. Over the course of the day they spend together, they begin to open up to each other and we see a very cute relationship evolve.
The film is filled with beautiful shots and adorable moments. The two children are incredible actors, and the slow development of their relationship and subtle changes in both teens are wonderfully executed. Only is loaded with magical moments where the shot is perfectly framed, encompassing the beauty of the scenery and the special moments the two children share.
It’s evident that this film was made on a tiny budget - co-directors Simon Reynolds and Ingrid Veninger play the roles of both sets of parents, and Daniel is played by Veninger's son Jacob Switzer.
Despite – or perhaps because of – the minimal budget, Only finds its magic in the performances, cinematography and clever editing, such as using the sound coming from the children's iPods to give meaning to the film, as we hear tracks from each child fade in and out.
Only is a clever, heart-warming and captivating piece of cinema. The filmmakers have done a brilliant job of capturing a precious moment of childhood which nearly everyone can relate to. It makes you feel like it was only yesterday when you first kissed your high-school crush and then felt like having a little vomit... ahhh youth.
Enjoy this film. It will be 73 minutes very well spent.
- Adele Moleta
Only was the winner of the Audience Choice Award at Possible Worlds 2009
"Superbly attuned to the emotional vulnerability and tentative exploration of the 'tween years." Kate Taylor - The Globe and Mail
To see the other films in the countdown so far, click here.