Once
directed by: John Karney
starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
Rated: R for Language
Musicals are often mocked for their campiness and unrealistic nature. (How many people break into song while walking down the street?) These factors don’t apply to Once; it’s the antithesis of the musical. It handles the music in more realistic settings, captures downtown Dublin in documentary style cinematography, and has a story that is compelling yet still realistic. The chorale musical numbers and crazy dance sequences are replaced with heart: pure, simple, all-out emotion. Although the indie-folk soundtrack is incredible, I think it’s the emotion of the music that audiences seem to connect with; it’s a movie that expresses what people feel without it being over dramatic or too original. It’s as if the characters (both of who are unnamed) are more representatives then actual characters, themselves. And that connection gives Once a strength that is missing from most movies, which are more interested in an original story than making that connection. It’s truly a unique and powerful movie, one that’s worth viewing more than once.
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