Once is a classic example of a “little movie that could”: a tiny, micro-budget film that somehow managed to rocket to classic status in an instant. It’s even been adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, which isn’t so much an indication of its quality as it is a sign of its incredible popularity. Thankfully, though, it more than lives up to the hype.
Written and directed by John Carney, he film stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová as the unnamed “Guy,” a Dublin-based street busker and vacuum cleaner repairman, and “Girl,” a Czech immigrant who works odd jobs and plays the piano at a local shop every chance she gets. When the two meet by happenstance, they find that they share a mutual passion for music, and over the course of the next several days, they learn more about each other – and themselves – through the songs they create together.
It’s a simple story told simply, and the effect is astounding. Carney doesn’t direct so much as he lets the story happen, allowing the pace to flow naturally and without effort. It’s truly a slice-of-life film.
As for the actors, what’s so wonderful about them is that they aren’t actors at all. Both Hansard and Irglová are musicians by trade, having worked both separately and together under the moniker The Swell Season. The performances they give, however, are more magical than those given by even the most experienced and well-trained thespians. Rather than act, they merely exist, and the unaffected honesty of their interactions is stunning.
Once is a must for lovers of both movies and music. It may be the closest thing to real life that I’ve ever seen onscreen.
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