Once

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ONCE (****)

Movie Review by: Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
Directed & Written by: John Carney II
Starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova, Hugh Walsh,
Running time: 88 minutes Released: 05/16/07
Rated R for language.

"Forget 'Chicago' and 'Dreamgirls' this is the musical of a generation, and it is also the best movie of the year thus far."

This is more like it. It may have taken 7 long months of over-wrought pirates, tired green ogres and script deprived superhero movies, but we finally have a film that makes it all worthwhile. Once is the sort of film that makes it worth going to the movies. Irish writer/ director John Carney’s film quietly and modestly inches its way into your heart, and by the time it reaches its wrenching and beautiful closing scene, you know you’ve experienced something special, and been touched by deep truths about life, love, music and connections that change you forever.

The story – of a Dublin busker (played by musician Glen Hansard, whose only other acting credit was in The Commitments from 15 years earlier) who meets and makes music with a young Czech immigrant (Marketa Irglova, who is stunning in her first acting role) – is simple, almost taking a backseat to the film’s wonderful music. Yet the two are not in competition, as the film is about the honesty and power of music as much as it is about pursuing your dreams and prizing those transcendent connections that come along so rarely in life.

Having met on the street, the two become better acquainted when she returns the next day with her vacuum cleaner – he works for his father repairing vacuums – and before long they establish a bond. But this is no standard cinema romance. He’s still pining over a lost love who currently resides in London, while she has an estranged husband back in the Czech Republic. Both are looking to rebuild past relationships, not start a new one.

Rather than becoming entangled in a romantic mess, the movie instead takes us to a place where both of these characters both feel most comfortable and are utterly vulnerable – their music. He’s interested in recording some songs before he leaves town and she loves his music and has the get-up-and-go to help him arrange a loan to cover the costs of recording. We spend a good part of the film with the two of them, a trio of other buskers who have joined them for the recording, and a producer who starts off uninterested and unimpressed and ends up inspired by the music he records.

There is no rags-to-riches here, no hugely dramatic events, and no predictable romantic twists. Instead we are treated to a movie that looks and feels like we are looking in on real people experiencing a central moment in their lives. Carney’s use of naturalistic filmmaking techniques – hand held cameras, natural light, and the use of what are essentially non-actors being the most noticeable examples – pays off handsomely by adding to the authenticity of this deeply affecting film.

And while the actors are not trained or greatly experienced in front of a camera, they are utterly perfect for these roles. Hansard, while appearing less than entirely comfortable onscreen, has some basic charisma and delivers his lines capably. More importantly, he writes and performs wonderful music in the singer/ songwriter vein. These songs – some co-written with Irglova – powerfully convey the deep yearning within his character. They are beautiful and simply great music. As for Irglova, what an incredible find she is. All of 18 years old when the film was made (in three weeks and for a pittance, by the way), she not only has a nice voice, writes touching songs and is beautiful in an unexpected way; she also has incredible charisma and could most certainly be a successful actor should she decide to make a career of it.

Once is the sort of movie that hits you hard, even though you might not be able to say why. And it’s the sort of movie that you want to drag everyone you really care about out to see. Director Carney slowly and beautifully, deconstructs the concept of the movie musical and in the process reshapes it into something quite extraordinary. Forget Chicago and Dreamgirls. This is the musical of a generation. It is also the best movie of the year thus far. It's about time too..

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