Once
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Movie Reviews of Once
Movie Review: "I don't know you/But I want you/All the more for that"
Summary: 5 Stars
Once is the street magician of musicals; its natural efficiency makes Dreamgirls look like Sigfried & Roy--a sparkling make-under of its genre, and a lovely sigh of a film.
I agree with the other reviewers that it resembles Before Sunrise in realistic style and pacing--except Once uses music in place of introspective conversation to achieve a sensory magic that only music can stimulate. You don't even have to be a fan of this kind of music to experience the fullness of the story through it.
Amazon's clip of the two leads (played by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová, neither of their characters is named) first harmonizing in the music shop is the perfect selection. It comes about 15 minutes in, and is where the film (by the director's own admission) really starts. It's a very tentative moment of connection through a song, itself of searching for connection, that evokes Trufaut's "400 Blows" in the way it brings the viewer into the equation. It's a brilliant sensory parallel: While listening to the music, experiencing each note and at the same time anticipating the next in the melody, the viewer also watches in wonderment and waiting, trying to understand what is going on between these two obscure people at that exact moment, and trying to detect what they will be in the moment after that.
The actors are both untrained, but it's neither evident nor non-evident in their performances. Sorry, that was a terribly composed sentence--what I mean is, while their performances are subtle and richly felt, they aren't "naturals" at acting; they ARE, however, naturals in their particular roles in this particular film. They just fit, and everything about it just feels right somehow. So much so that I wasn't at all surprised to discover that the lead actors were friends who met 6-7 years before, and that they began to see each other in a romantic light during filming. Hansard, 37, demonstrates an affecting hesitation and tentativeness around Irglová, who is 19, that is appropriate both for the plot, and the real-life fact that she is so young.
In the excellent commentary with the actors and director, the director notes that the original script called for a kiss, and Hansard refused and wasn't comfortable with it. The grey area of romantic appropriateness befits the plot (the title denotes man's hesitation to act, waiting for "Once this-or-that happens"), and makes the characters' interactions more interesting, striking a perfect balance between discomfort and harmony.
The fact that this was shot in 17 days for $175,000 is pretty amazing. But, again, it seems to add to the film for the better, giving it an improvisational and true-to-life feeling. The sets are real places in Dublin, adding to the sense that all this could've happened yesterday, and maybe it will happen tomorrow, you never know.
This is just one of those rare, rare movies where all the behind-the-scenes events and interpersonal relationships are so oddly, perfectly manifest in the finished product.
The DVD includes commentary by the actors and director on both the film and the songs. Subtitles are accessible in English, Spanish and French so you can follow along the lyrics. There are two brief but entertaining making-of-type featurettes as well.
My one gripe: The R-rating is truly puzzling. On what planet, MPAA? There is no nudity, not even a kiss, and no violence. Some strong language, but barely that.
Movie Review: Simple, heartfelt. I love these characters. A lot.
Summary: 5 Stars
I did not have high hopes for this film. It is mercifully short (85 minutes), which almost merits a star by itself -- filmmakers today cannot just tell a story and be done with it. They think they must add layers and drag it on for over two hours.
The movie opens on a street corner somewhere in Ireland. A guy with a guitar is playing his modern folk tunes (what we'd now call "indie music") with his guitar case open for tips and contributions. After an altercation with a druggie who tries to steal his guitar case, cut to the nighttime, when he is wailing out a very personal song of woe, strumming loudly and emphatically. A young woman walks up and throws ten pence in his case, asking him if he wrote the song. An acquaintance is struck -- she is a Czehk immigrant who sells flowers on the street and does domestic cleaning. He's a vacuum cleaner repair man by day, working in his Dad's shop. But they both love to sing/play music, and dabble in writing it. Over the course of a couple of weeks, they work together to flesh out some songs he's written and record them, as the guy starts moving seriously toward trying to make it in the music biz.
This film is one of the most charming things I've seen in years. It is a small film, a simple story about simple people with dreams, struggling with heartache and poor circumstances, who create something together, and in the process learn a bit about themselves and find a sudden, new, and deep friendship and love. It is amazing how authentic and real it comes off, amazing because this was a tiny movie, probably shot on video instead of film, cheap to make, with unknown actors. Yet Hollywood cannot seem to make a film that takes the audience into a friendship with living, breathing, real characters that you can't help but have immense affection for by the time the final credits roll. I can't say it never happens, but usually I'm painfully aware of contrivances and manipulations, poorly disguised.
The central theme of the movie, the core around which everything revolves, is The Guy's songwriting and The Girl's collaboration with him in creating and performing it to make a demo recording. It is not really my kind of music. It is the music of simple feelings, performed by people who do not have perfect, trained voices. Forgive my Irish, but I'd call it "sad b*stard music," because it's about heartache and longing and misunderstanding and reaching out for connection and love. The melodies are sometimes pretty, but it's main virtue is that it is sincere, if not often very poetic (by my standards). The great thing about it is that you can believe that these characters could write these songs, because they aren't that sophisticated. (Unlike the recent August Rush, where a child who has never played an instrument suddenly becomes a performing and composing prodigy. Talk about a leap.)
And that's what stands out about this movie. Sincerity. Hard to find in a modern motion picture. I may not watch this multiple times, but I found it very moving, in a positive way.
There is some bad language, perhaps authentic, but totally unnecessary. This could easily be redubbed and turned into a PG or even a G film.
Movie Review: Very well done
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to say, before I begin, that a great resonance of this film for me was the fact that it evoked my own musical past. A Boston-based musician "back in the day" (WAY back!) I lived many of the same moments as "He" does in the film.
That said, this is essentially a boy-meets-girls story, the twist being that He and She are both musicians. But unlike most Hollywood-driven stories of this genre, the relationship is only a secondary focus. Rather, it is the music that is at center stage...and what music it is. Simple, real, and from the heart, it is the music and its development that carries the story forward.
The two leads, He and She (for neither we nor they actually ever learn the characters' names) are played superbly by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, non-actors, but also real life friends and musical collaborators. He is played with earnest honesty (Hansard is essentially playing himself), and She is portrayed as whimsical, slightly ethereal, and strong-yet vulnerable. Yet the lack of a Hollywood ham-fisted touch is clearly evident not only in the low budget, almost documentary style of John Carney's spot-on direction, but also in the evolution of the characters' story. For while this is clearly a love story, it does not follow standard Hollywood protocol. Indeed, there is no seal-the-deal first kiss, no sex, and the two characters do not set off into the sunset together. Instead, they come together, enrich one another's lives, and then follow their individual paths...wherever those may lead.
But this is not to say that the story or the film is lacking, for in place of the usual detailed unfolding of an intimate relationship to rivet the audience's attentions and emotions, here we get to witness the unfolding of the music, as "His" songs are slowly transformed from solo street ballads into remarkably listenable arrangements by a pick-up band of nameless street musicians...and recorded "simply because."
It was in watching this unfolding that I was personally the most captured, because I have known the wonder Hansard perfectly captures and portrays as he first hears Irglová accompany him on one of his songs. I have lived the rush he experiences when his little accidental band suddenly transforms his solo efforts into something that somehow magically exceeds the limits of its own creation. And I also lived through looking in the mirror, as He does, and realizing that all of his musical efforts ultimately spring from a crushed spirit. While it is never explicitly touched upon in the movie, I wondered, as He goes off to apparently reclaim the track his life SHOULD have taken, whether he was wondering, as I did, whether his muse would leave once the hole in his spirit was healed and his heart was restored.
But perhaps I am projecting too much of my own story on this wonderful film, a movie that people may read into, but which certainly needs no help in touching the heart, the emotions, and the soul. Well done!
Movie Review: You'll fall hard for this beautiful film...
Summary: 5 Stars
There's something pure about `Once'. Instead of taking the route of most films in this genre it steers away from the drugs and immoral clichés of musician pieces and focuses on the passion behind the music, the experiences and emotions that drive these two individuals to create beautiful music together. `Once' is truly a one of a kid film, a beautiful and mesmerizing musical journey that comes only once in a great while.
The story told is that of your classic boy meets girl story (or `guy' meets girl story) where we are introduced to a young man who plays music on the streets for money and fixes vacuums in his fathers shop, as well as a young girl who has a broken vacuum and a love for music. They meet by chance but share a connection that no words can put into perspective for the audience. It's through their music though that their connection is made manifest. They are drawn to each other and we are drawn to them. They fall in love, but a love that is not like most experienced in the cinema today, this is a pure love, a love of character and emotion, a love of human beings and not carnal desire. This guy falls for this girl and she likewise falls for him because they share a common bond you don't share with just anyone.
The film takes place over the course of a week where are two companions decide to make a record together. They buy the studio time, they rehearse and then ultimately they record their album. That is your story, but the story runs so much deeper than that. When I watched `Dreamgirls' last year I was fortified in my belief that singing can be the purest for of acting, but `Once' takes the feeling of `Dreamgirls' and carries it much further. When we watch actors (and real life musicians) Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova sing their songs (songs they themselves have written) we feel every ounce of emotion. We feel compelled to respond to their calls, they pleads; their desires. We are taken deep into their souls.
One thing to notice when watching `Once' is that neither our main actor or our main actress is given a name. This to me makes it all the more relatable. These two could be anyone in the world, they could be you or I or our friends. By not giving them a title other than `guy' and `girl' they become even more understandable and accessible. I truly adore this aspect of the film.
As a longstanding fan of the Irish pub music made popular by the amazingly talented Damien Rice I was thrilled to see Glen Hansard do this film. His musical style is breathtaking and warm and he delivers a very strong performance for someone who is not a quote-unquote `actor'. Marketa Irglova also delivers beautifully. Both are very natural and convincing, portraying real people, no gimmicks or dramatized emotions. They add to the pure quality I mentioned on the outset. This movie feels real; it feels natural and graceful and in the end attains all my respect and admiration. One of the best films of the year, most definitely.
Movie Review: Once Is A Lot
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an almost perfect movie that seems to result from a syzygy; all the stars were aligned in its favor. Movie aficionados should know that the film was shot in 17 days on a budget of $160,000 and has, as of this writing, generated worldwide gross revenues in excess of $15 million. The director, John Carney, has little actual film experience, the star, Glen Hansard, is a non-actor musician, and the pivotal co-star, Marketa Irglova, was a 17-year old neophyte when shooting began. This tells you two things. First, there is an audience for smart, soulful movies with class that speak (or sing) up to their audience, rather than pander to its basest instincts. Second, a large production budget does not equal quality. This breathtaking gem was shot for the cost of the average Burger King commercial.
As director Carney points out in one of the bonus features, there is barely a plot. (He) - a heartbroken Irish busker whose love has fled Dublin for London, encounters (Her), a practical and thoroughly charming Czech immigrant living with mother and daughter - and assorted cousins learning English by watching TV soap operas. The two form a bond that is grounded in their mutual love of music, care for each other's welfare, attraction that may or may not be romantic, and sheer loneliness. From the very moment they meet these two appear ideally suited to heal each other in very important ways.
The film is so thoroughly immersed in music that it can be thought of as, "the first musical that doesn't make you want to stick your head in a bag of ferrets." The songs grow organically from the story, or vice versa, and never for a second seem forced. Once rests on the capable shoulders of professional musician and songwriter extraordinaire, Glen Hansard, whose lyrics, strumming, and singing are so intense and powerful as to be just short of unnerving - a big, brave talent. Marketa Irglova is the perfect counter-point for a man like this, she is small, precious, her piano playing is both careful and exquisite, and her voice is sweet where his is raw. There is magic in the meeting of these two, even the jaded control booth techy senses it as early on as the first track.
Too many grace notes to mention even half of them. I was transfixed by the long continuous shot of (Her) in sheep slippers and dressing gown walking home from the convenience store late at night, singing her own newly coined lyrics to a melody penned by him. The broken Hoover trailing down the street behind them like a puppy on a leash was pure inspiration. Just when I thought the picture would twist into a predictable ending, it didn't, choosing instead something far more satisfying. This is not merely a movie to watch, but a movie to own, and remove from the shelf on bleak, rainy days, when you need to remember what love feels like.