User Reviews

ONLY is filmed in Parry Sound, Ontario and is the story of a friendship between Daniel and Vera. They have one day ONLY to spend together and by walking around and answering questions about themselves like, "If you could only have books or movies what would you have?" They are nice kids and the film evokes an age of innocence. The language is clear and both the main characters (age 12) don't swear or talk about any extreme problems in their lives. Vera is an accomplished poet and the characters have fun together.

Both of the kids have stressors in their lives but don't spend time lamenting about their problems. The kids are character actors and present as genuine, yet precocious, pre-teens.

ONLY is the type of film that Grandparents can take their Grandchildren to and all will enjoy it.

Hopefully Ingrid Venninger will create more films like ONLY.

Every once in a rare while you sit in a darkened theater, and you are confronted by beauty and a sprinkling of magic. "Only" gives that gift to the audience. It is a simple story about the first innocent breaths of love and it is told with such honesty and generosity that I talked of little else for days afterwards. There are moments that are still with me. The two kids at the heart of the film are a revelation as they articulate the the awkward power of being lonely and then finding someone to care about, to fall in love with. They speak to each other in half sentences and glances and stolen moments of shear joy, two kids on the cusp of growing up taking comfort and delight in each other. The acting seems so real that it is startling at times and always captivating. The film is not slick and packaged and big, it reminds me of Before Sunrise crossed with Juno, but its intimacy only adds to it's charm, like a secret being shared with the audience. I can not recommend a movie more highly. It is imperfect and truly wonderful. We live in a cynical world where everything is faked and commercial and manipulative and blindingly glossy. This movie is a dandelion, a firefly, a first kiss, something real that warms you with a gorgeous soundtrack. It reminds us that there is beauty in art and film, that beauty does not need to cost a fortune, it merely needs a generous heart.

This film is just what needs to happen in film today. It is well written, with such freshness and innocence that it opens up a whole new space in cinema. I enjoyed everything about it -- the music, the acting, that huge block of cheese, and those little glimpses of Parry Sound.

It was great to see a story with so much subtlety and magic. There were tiny signs of danger everywhere in the script, but they all fizzle out. I kept waiting for something bad to happen, as I'm so conditioned to expecting Drama -- with a capital "D" -- in film, but in this one, it never does. Instead, innocence reigns, and it feels very, very good.