Once is the kind of movie that only comes along once (no pun intended) in a great while. It is a deeply moving and original film, shot on a near non-existent budget that defies easy classification. Ostensibly, it's a musical, but it's shot in a neo-realist style. It is also a drama, and almost a romance. It is has the best songs for any film musical since Evita and is certainly one of the best films I've seen this year.
Set on the streets of Dublin, the movie follows an unnamed street busker who I'll call the guy, which is how the character is referred to in the closing credits. He is played by Glen Hansard of The Frames, who also wrote the songs (Trivia: the part was almost played by Cillian Murphy, who dropped out because he found Hansard's songs too difficult to sing). The guy works by day as a vacuum cleaner repairman, but his real passion is music. One of the few people who pay any attention to his street performances is a girl (Markéta Irglová), who works various odd jobs to make ends meat. Although the guy finds the girl too be a little annoying at first, he quickly becomes attracted to her when he realizes that she is a truly gifted singer and pianist. He makes an unsuccessful pass at her and then finds out why she isn't eager to start another relationship: she is still technically married to the (absent) father of her child, and both her daughter and Czech immigrant mother (Danuse Ktrestova) are complete dependant on her financially. The two become very close and almost lovers, as the girl shuns the guy's romantic affection even while she believes in his music more than anyone else.
What is important about the movie is that we believe in the guy's music too, because these are great songs. After I saw the movie, I went to Schuller's Books and Music and had I been employed at the time, I surely would have bought the soundtrack. The songs are absolutely magnificent, made effective by the simple "unplugged" arrangements they are played in and the emotional simplicity that Hansard and Irglova perform them in.
There is a certain realism and authenticity to this film that no other musical has ever captured. It has grainy, DV photography which I usually hate but found myself caught up in. We get the De Sican feeling that we are dropping in on the lives of this two people, and that the camera is an invisible observer. It also made my realize how special music is. These two characters are very poor, yet all they need is a guitar and a borrowed piano to find a few minuets of happiness.
This is a wonderful film that works on many levels, across many style and genres. I first said this as a joke, but now that I've seen it, it's true: I'm sure I'm going see Once, more than twice.
Once (2007)