Once

I watched a delightful, little movie last night. Once is about two musicians and the connection that they form. The guy, a vacuum cleaner repairman, spends much of his time as a busker on the streets of Dublin. He plays covers during the day when the crowds might throw him their loose change, but at night when the streets are relatively empty he plays his own songs. This is when the girl (the credits actually call the two main characters "Guy" and "Girl") stops to talk with him about his music. She is a Czech immigrant pianist who cannot afford to own a piano. She helps him record some demos of his music that he can take with him to London and pursue a music career (among other things)

Both the guy and the girl are at the very end of painful relationships, but neither have achieved any kind of closure. They spend a week getting to know each other, often through writing music together. Actually, Once is a musical, but a more naturalistic musical than any I've ever seen. The songs, which comprise almost half of the movie, did not feel to me like they were just a device, or a gimmick, as in many musicals. I had no trouble believing that two individuals like these characters in real life would sing together and to each other as they do in the movie. The songs are one of the primary means of communication between the guy and the girl.

Once is kind of like a cross between two other movies I really like, Before Sunset and Lost in Translation. Two strangers meet, spend a short but intense amount of time together, have a connection (I would be hesitant to describe the connection as falling in love, although I could understand how some might call it that), and come to some conclusions about their prior relationships.

The music in the movie is great. The way most people, I imagine, will be introduced to this movie stems from the song Falling Slowly, which won an Academy Award. I particularly liked a scene which takes place at a dinner party where everyone must sing for their dinner. Another great moment occurs after they have recorded the demos, and the guy plays one of the recordings for his father.

This is a small, intimate movie. It was made on a minuscule budget, which likely helped the filmmakers rather than hindered them. It was very enjoyable to spend some time with these two interesting characters and watch (and listen) to them encounter one another.