Jim3k
06-24-2007, 12:31 AM
Back in mid-May, Blue Diablo posted some positive comments about the film Once. I don't think BD followed up on it, nor did anyone else comment on it. I finally saw it today and decided to say something about it.
First, this is a little film, almost a classic art film. It is the story of an Irish street musician in his '30s whose abilities in the practical world are rather spare. Aside from his guitar on the street corner, he works for his father fixing and selling vacuum cleaners and small appliances. He sees himself as the victim of a past love who has moved to London, abandoning him. (Why not, he had very little to offer.) One day he is approached by a younger woman, a Czech immigrant, who also has some musical talent. Together he is able to finish his one strong song and the rest of the film's plot, such as it is, is getting the demo done.
The film, in reality, is a a love story. There are delightful scenes, her trailing a broken vacuum cleaner around the town, a duet in a piano store, a motorbike ride, discovering she is married but (maybe) available, a singing party with friends and the dawn celebration of the demo's completion.
His (Glen Hansard) singing is outstanding. He came across as kind of halfway between Paul McCartney and Gordon Lightfoot --all folky and rocky and ballad-ey. He's actually a well-known lead singer in the Irish rock band, The Frames. She (Margeta Irglova) is presented as a Czech immigrant with a toddler daughter, abandoned by her husband, trying to live selling flowers and cleaning houses. Irglova, in reality, is a Czech singer, pianist and composer who in 2005 made an album with Hansard. They work very well together. It's her acting debut and his first movie, though he's been on Irish TV big-time.
One might wonder why the title is 'Once,' but I think that is for the viewer to figure out.
Blue Diablo noted the Rotten Tomatoes high rating. It deserves it. While such a story could have been sappy, this movie avoids that and allows a love (maybe loves) to unfold and grow and...well, you need to see the ending.
It's worth a ticket. Take your wife or a date. Great date movie.
First, this is a little film, almost a classic art film. It is the story of an Irish street musician in his '30s whose abilities in the practical world are rather spare. Aside from his guitar on the street corner, he works for his father fixing and selling vacuum cleaners and small appliances. He sees himself as the victim of a past love who has moved to London, abandoning him. (Why not, he had very little to offer.) One day he is approached by a younger woman, a Czech immigrant, who also has some musical talent. Together he is able to finish his one strong song and the rest of the film's plot, such as it is, is getting the demo done.
The film, in reality, is a a love story. There are delightful scenes, her trailing a broken vacuum cleaner around the town, a duet in a piano store, a motorbike ride, discovering she is married but (maybe) available, a singing party with friends and the dawn celebration of the demo's completion.
His (Glen Hansard) singing is outstanding. He came across as kind of halfway between Paul McCartney and Gordon Lightfoot --all folky and rocky and ballad-ey. He's actually a well-known lead singer in the Irish rock band, The Frames. She (Margeta Irglova) is presented as a Czech immigrant with a toddler daughter, abandoned by her husband, trying to live selling flowers and cleaning houses. Irglova, in reality, is a Czech singer, pianist and composer who in 2005 made an album with Hansard. They work very well together. It's her acting debut and his first movie, though he's been on Irish TV big-time.
One might wonder why the title is 'Once,' but I think that is for the viewer to figure out.
Blue Diablo noted the Rotten Tomatoes high rating. It deserves it. While such a story could have been sappy, this movie avoids that and allows a love (maybe loves) to unfold and grow and...well, you need to see the ending.
It's worth a ticket. Take your wife or a date. Great date movie.