People Come Into Your Life For a Reason ...
Movie Reviewer, a storyteller, A Big Giant Sap, a believer of fate
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AUG
31
2007
Once —
If ever there was a movie that illustrated the quote, "People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime," it's Once, an Irish independent feature that has already won the World Cinema Audience Award Dramatic at Sundance, and is now being released in the U.S.The most unique part of the Once is that throughout the movie, we really feel we get to know the guy and the girl, what motivates them, etc., but we never learn their names. Even if you look up the movie on its official site or on imdb.com, there is no listing of their character names, just The Guy and The Girl. The Guy is played by Glen Hansard, previously seen in this country in the movie The Commitments, and newcomer Marketa Irglova. Writer and director John Carney initially looked for proven actors for these roles, and used Hansard, whom he knew from their days together in the band The Frames, and Irglova to write the music, and becoming frustrated at not finding the right actors that could sing and play music as well, he eventually offered the roles to the musicians.
The Guy works in his father's vacuum cleaner repair business by day, and even lives above the shop, but by night he is found on the streets of Dublin busking, singing and playing his guitar for money. The Girl is a recent Czech immigrant selling roses on the street and cleaning houses, while her mother watches The Girl's young daughter back at her place. She spends her lunch hour every day at a music store, playing the piano, since she can't afford one of her own. She chances upon The Guy on the street one day singing one of his songs, and tossing 10 cents into his guitar case, wants to know who the girl is that he is singing about in the song.
The two begin an awkward friendship, that is until they play music together. She brings him with her to the music store, and talks him into playing one of his songs, while she plays and sings along on the piano. They realize they have something interesting and make plans to form a band and create a demo record, while they share stories of the loves that got away. They are both very passionate people, both in their lives and in their music.
The best part of Once is the music, all of it being Irish folk music that reminded me of both Van Morrison and the music from The Commitments, so it's interesting that the star was in that film as well. The Girl's voice is very pure, almost haunting at times, and The Guy's is anything but pure, but both have such richness and character in their voices, that as they tell their stories in songs, it brings them to life. The Girl asks The Guy about his ex-girlfriend, and he sings a song that includes the chorus, "Broken-Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy."
I expected the film to have a lot of heart, which it does, but I didn't expect it to have the level of humor it does. The entire theatre broke out in laughter on more than a few occasions as the two stumble around in their personal lives and glide through their music. Likewise, I found myself stumbling into the theatre, never having heard of the movie before, but gliding out, remembering the music, and pondering the story.
Last edited on Dec 21, 2007
Once is recommended by LauraBelle
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