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Review

Although the story isn’t complex and there are only two nameless characters in this gloriously small film, Once is sure to be one of the best-loved films out of Ireland this year. Glen Hansard, of the Irish band The Frames, and real-life collaborator Markéta Irglová star in this charmer whose lovely low-key style allows the terrific music to carry the film. With a single hand-held camera, mostly ambient lighting, unadorned sets and a live musical score, Once still tells a story far richer than most star-driven, CGI-laden Hollywood fare.

The “guy” is standing on a Dublin sidewalk singing a wrenching song about a lost love with little notice from the passers-by. That is, until the “girl” arrives, who apparently has been captivated by his music for some time. He lives with his father over their vacuum shop while she lives with her mother and child in a small flat. Together they walk through the Dublin streets, trading their tales. As their lives intertwine, they discover each other’s talent and collaborate in a music shop. On a piano in the back of the store, they create some of the sweetest music to be heard in a film in some time. The guy talks of his dream to record a demo and seek a recording contract in London. And then there’s the woman, the source of the pain in these exquisite songs.

Unlike traditional movie musicals, there are no sudden song-and-dance numbers. The sweet songs are organically part of the film, but don’t expect The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; this is a fresh re-interpretation that’ll leave you with a smile on your face and a tune in your throat.

 -- Scott Cranin