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Amazon.co.uk Review
Winner of the World Audience Award at Sundance, Once starts out as a small-scale romance, like Before Sunrise, before arriving somewhere unexpected. An Irish busker (Glen Hansard, the Frames and The Commitments) meets a Czech flower seller (Markéta Irglová) while singing on the streets of Dublin. (In the credits, they're listed as Guy and Girl.) She likes what she hears and lets him know. Turns out she's a musician, too. They work on a few songs together and a friendship is forged. She lives with her widowed mother, who doesn't speak English. He lives with his widowed father, who owns a repair shop. Since he broke up with his girlfriend, the guy has been drifting, unable and unwilling to get his life in order. The girl encourages him to pursue a record deal, and the guy emerges from his funk. Then he makes a move on the girl, who rejects his advances. He's confused, but as he comes to find, there's a reason she’s keeping her distance. Though Once is filled with appealing folk-pop by Hansard and Irglová (released on CD as The Swell Season), the movie isn't a traditional musical, but rather a more optimistic Brief Encounter. Filmmaker John Carney, Hansard's former bandmate, captures the real city--in all its affluence and poverty--rather than the picture postcard version. His beautifully shot film serves as a heartfelt ballad about all the underclass Guys and Girls swept aside amidst Ireland's economic miracle. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully underplayed,
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This review is from: Once [DVD] (DVD)
I saw the trailer for this on the internet, and liked the idea immediately: busker boy meets girl and they make beautiful music together. Conscious that this wasn't perhaps the first time that this storyline had been used, I wondered how they'd fare at steering past the obvious cliches, but I'd never have imagined they could be so wildly successful.
The hand-held camera makes you feel like you're watching a couple in the street, but they're so believable in their roles that you never suspect them of just acting. This is hard to do without some of the more obvious trappings of film, but it's totally compelling - just watch the subtle way Glen Hansard's character tries to master his confusion when he meets the girl's family in her bedsit. Or the way in which he teaches her his first song, which has to be the most accurate portrayal of this kind of scene I've ever seen. Or the final scene with his father, which appears to sum up the depths of a complex relationship with just a few lines. Much of the film is given over to a careful attention on the music, with a generosity that's repayed many times over - there's a central, unbroken shot of her walking back from the corner shop late at night quietly singing to herself that seems to take a long time, but you realise that's just how it should be. To be sure, the instinct for avoiding cliche slips up sometimes: I wasn't surprised at the speed with which the recording engineer went from being cynical to impressed (though I was a bit surprised that the first song the busker decided to lay down was in 5/4, which is hard to dance to, at least). But, especially considering the contrast with the previous film I saw Glen Hansard in (the disappointing Commitments, which had great music but lousy acting), I don't think I've seen such a beautiful piece of work for a very long time.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple and engaging,
By
This review is from: Once [DVD] (DVD)
This is a lovely little film built on a simple premise and all the better for it. There are no pretensions here - it's low budget and looks it and that is the point. The songs bind everything together and are cracking tunes if you like your folksy singer songwriter stuff. It's romantic and engaging and at less than 1:30 it's over before you know it. Beautiful.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining movie,
By
This review is from: Once [DVD] (DVD)
Described as a low budget movie,but dont be fooled by this description.It is good,entertaining movie,full of good songs throughout.Personally Ive never heard of the actors before,but no matter.Basically it`s a boy meets girl story,both musically gifted in different ways.Both have a hard life and loads of baggage.Both have ambitions of a better life.Recommended viewing,the music is a bonus.
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