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One Pandemic Day makes Oakville proud: Review

One Pandemic Day
One Pandemic Day

Sometimes it's hard to remember that we've been living in a radically changed world for almost six months now, with COVID-19 having upended life as we know it forever. Here in Oakville, the new documentary One Pandemic Day has a strong message of perseverance for not just the town but the world.

Director/Editor Mikelle Virey has teamed with his longtime creative collaborators at Film.Ca Cinemas for his feature film debut. And the new documentary they've managed to create is a seriously impressive effort.

One Pandemic Day chronicles the true stories of 17 family units around our town of Oakville, Ontario, Canada in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s Tuesday April 14, 2020, and Oakville has officially been in quarantine for almost a month.

April 14th COVID-19 Update for Oakville

Most of the plot follows the timeline of a regular day, but the most entertaining moments are short sidebars of day to day activities. (The multiple botched banana bread baking attempts and gym class in a hot tub are my personal favourites.)

But the film is effective in being about more than the now regular lives of people in town due to the change forced upon them. At its core, the film is a snapshot of how people of all kinds embraced changed and taught themselves to accept things they can’t control.

That’s a big idea that we, as a human race, are likely still trying to understand. But in the movie we learn through moments that are often heartbreaking and happy.

And the best moments are learning about the singular, relatable details you see the 17 families bravely sharing with us.

Some of what One Pandemic Day offers

An example are things like people working in their new home offices with desk chairs that weren’t designed to be used as office chairs.

Then there’s dozens of others, like not needing your alarm clocks anymore or putting on makeup for the first time in three weeks. And in true early pandemic fashion, there’s someone gleefully playing the new Animal Crossing.

Some of these activities have some great humour, too. One mother, Jessica, and her fight to get her son Charlie to stop watching TV and start school, for example, is hysterical.

Other events are interesting just admiring the strangeness of how some families have adapted to their unique activities. Figure skating practicing in the backyard? Teaching tricks to your pet bird? Or getting your grandmother home to Canada when she’s stuck in Peru?

The greatest success is Virey’s work in editing the film together. Almost all the film’s footage is from home cameras and cell phones by the film’s subjects themselves.

Virey combed through over 300 hours of video and found the two hours that best captured this one extraordinarily ordinary day in Oakville.

One Pandemic Day
One Pandemic Day

Sadly, some of the filler footage is necessary to connect the 17 stories, and it adds to the nearly two hour run time. And there are definitely too many drone shots of flying over suburban home complexes across town. After the first ten, they all blend together.

But don’t let these small setbacks stop you from seeing the movie. Whether you rent it at home on Vimeo or go see it on the big screen at the recently reopened Film.Ca Cinemas (whose CEO Jeff Knoll is the executive producer on the film) this is an unmissable event for every resident in Oakville.

Make no mistake, every resident in town should see this movie.

Why you should see the film

The movie releases today. It’s a pretty incredible accomplishment to finish a feature length film in four months, and it’s even more impressive the movie was made this well and this fast.

Despite most of the music being prewritten, the chosen tracks add a sense of real drama to what could have been less interesting events.

The goofiness of its participants filming themselves also isn’t lost. Mayor Rob Burton, recording his morning routine at one point, describes it as his “one-handed life style for the day.”

But the tone of everyone’s stories routinely change between heartbreaking and peaceful. That’s simply the reality now for people like teachers, doctors, and politicians. Yes - even politicians.

One of the most sobering things Virey depicts is the sameness between people from contrasting homes: rich, poor, left-wing, right-wing: it doesn’t matter. The impact of the pandemic was and still is deeply radical and sad for every single person.

This emotional heft could’ve easily been sappy or cheap, especially learning about new parents afraid for their kids, or doctors who are kept from the families. But Virey’s editing proves to be striking and powerful.

The one truly unforgettable scene is with Dr. Alam, discussing how she discusses options with a COVID-19 positive patient on whether or not to go on a ventilator. It’s one of the best scenes I’ve seen at the movies this year.

This is especially worth seeing on the big screen

The material carries an adequate importance just by being relevant to what’s going on. But it wouldn’t be nearly as dynamic on a small screen.

Seeing this at the theatre is a real emotional whallop. Watching the movie on a big screen really is the way to do it. And if you’ve been waiting for the right movie for your first visit back to the cinema, One Pandemic Day is the perfect choice.

It’s worth mentioning my appreciation of the film and its effective construction isn’t coming from a place of patriotism for Oakville. While it would make any audience proud to call Oakville home, it truly is a well composed movie.

The essence of what the film captures best is what it’s like to be in any town during this crisis. The intricacy of Oakville’s story could be mirrored in towns around North America and the world.

Above all else, One Pandemic Day is a miraculous success that finds the beauty in all of us somehow making things normal again.

One Pandemic Day

8 out of 10

G, 1hr 56mins. Documentary.

Directed by Mikelle Virey.

Starring residents across the town of Oakville.

Now Playing an exclusive engagement at Film.Ca Cinemas. The film can also be purchased now on Vimeo.

Read more reviews and entertainment news @MrTyCollins on Facebook and Twitter.