Film Review: Once

It is hard to say what I liked so much about this film but I was aware that I was watching it throughout with a smile on my face. Later I read that this was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. It is totally low key and it works its way into your soul. The young man plays his guitar and sings on the streets of Dublin. He writes songs about what he knows. He lives with his delightful father and during the daytime they both repair vacuum cleaners in Dad’s shop. She comes along one day and hears the music. She is a very distinctly different character than you have met in a long time. It is hard to understand her when she talks because she has a Czech accent. She lives with her mother and young daughter. During the day she sells flowers in the streets and also cleans houses. Her family also is loving and caring. It seems she married when she became pregnant and her husband is in the Czech Republic. Our young hero has lost his lady love when she took off for London. So girl meets boy on the streets of Dublin. She loves his music and begins to contribute to his songs. At one point they go to a music store. She plays the piano and contributes words. He plays the guitar and sings. He sings to her in the back of a bus. They go to the bank to borrow money for a recoding session. I actually laughed out loud in this scene. You are waiting for the banker to say no. He gives them money and then pulls out his guitar and sings for the young couple. Realistic? No but so delightful. This is the tone throughout. The young couple become closer and care for each other. It never becomes a romance and they do not even end up with one another. This is so ‘un-American’ and so refreshing.
The two actors actually do sing and play together and have made CD’s. I can’t even say I loved the music. What I did love was the tenderness and the refreshing quality of this delightful film. You do listen to a lot of music. You see two believable characters that grow on you as the film develops. I came out feeling happy and that has to be worth something. Once is not enough to see this unusual film.