Irish Music

Once

A few weeks ago, I reviewed a small romantic/dramedy titled Begin Again. I really enjoyed the film, but a few colleagues of mine stated that I should have seen another movie first. So of course, I took their advice and I watched the movie they recommended. Now before I get into the review, I would just like to state that I am very willing to take recommendations. If anyone else has any please don’t hesitate to shoot them over to me via comments. The film that was recommended to me is an Oscar winner, yet a film that came out of nowhere in 2006. Small Irish film about love and what it means to follow your dreams.

Once tells the sweet story of a Guy (Glen Hansard) just trying to scrape by on his busking on the busy Dublin streets and fixing vacuum cleaners. That is until the day he meets a Girl (Markéta Irglová), who insists on learning about his music. After a little persuasion, the Girl convinces Guy to listen to her play the piano. The Girl plays some beautiful music that moves the Guy and when she is done, Guy decides to see if she could accompany him in an original song. What comes out of the collaboration is magic. Soon both are on the track to change their lives forever.

First I would like to thank my colleagues for mentioning this film to me. This is a sweet film that deserves the praise that it received. For me the film reminded me of when independent films of the 90s were amazing. Like Clerks for Kevin Smith, the film just felt very untainted by a corporate presence and was told from a very personal point of view.

Both leads create a very palpable chemistry with a very realistic outcome. Even when the two of them are separated on screen, both actors gave the film that realistic feel that wouldn’t have worked with big named actors. That feel is what makes the film work and I give very high praise to director John Carney.

With an extremely low budget, Carney shoots this film in an almost documentary style. With a couple of crane shots, Carney uses low lighting and single shots to give the audience a very genuine look into a struggling singer/songwriter both professionally and personally. I felt that Begin Again had a great feel to it, but with Once you can tell that this film was something very personal for Carney and I believe that is what made the movie even more special.

This film should be on everyone’s ‘must-see’ list somewhere. The film is small but gives a very large punch by showing people that sometimes it is better late than never to follow your heart. I do hope that Carney provides the world some more movies like this and Begin Again because I think the world needs some more inspiration.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.