Once (2007)

[Edgy MD]

A soulful Dublin guitar busker meets a Chech chich and they make beautiful music together.

That's it. It's the movie without a subplot.

[Edgy MD]

So, I'm the only one who stumbled into this?

Irish, you'll be happy to know that there's some Thin Lizzy content.

[metirish]

I read about it in the Irish Echo a while back but I've not seen it,would Blockbuster have it...Glan Hansard is in it....Duan probably saw it.

[Willets Point]

I saw a trailer for Once this weekend. It looked like crap. Is it?

[Edgy MD]

No, but it's easy to think of it as such, as the plot is more linear and the approach more hook-free than any indy movie you ever saw.

It's about a guy and a girl, singing music written by that guy and that girl. Every scene is about such.

It has minimal editing, and you think that's a conceit to a budget that didn't allow them to do double shots, but I don't think that's it. In one scene, the woman goes to the convenience store late at night to buy batteries, so she can play the song she just wrote lyrics to on her Discman. She walks home five blocks and the camera tracks her singing her new song every step of the way. I thought "Any production that can pull that shot off could afford the reverse angle camera, but they didn't want to."

Other technical oopses were there though. At one point, I'm pretty sure saw the set lights reflected in a street window. At another, a baby in the scene reaches out to touch the camera. Also, for a film listing the sound editor as the third closing credit, the sound was pretty bad, with an audible hiss every time they started up another song.

I can add more critical gobbledygook about how creativity rescued these two drowning spirits. But it's a really honest story, that you'll either appreciate or think is shite, with music you'll either appreciate or think is shite, but hopefully will appreciate the honesty.

I like making music, and liked seeing a film about two interesting people making music.

Plus, there's Thin Lizzy content.

[Willets Point]

By looking like crap I wasn't referring to production values, but that the trailer made it look like the typical cliche-ridden tragic romance. With music (including an overwrought theme song courtesy of The Frames). And brogues! Whoopee!

[Edgy MD]

I don't know the Frames. It didn't correspond to cliches I know. It was a really minmalist script.

The writer/director is Irish (checking: he's the bassist for the Frames), and it starred the Irish singer from the Frames, so brogues come with the territory.

Am I really out of the loop and supposed to know that the Frames suck?

[metirish]

Glan Hansard singer/guitar for The Frames also starred in The Commitments as the bands guitarist.

[Edgy MD]

Right, Outspan.

Am I really out of the loop and supposed to know that the Frames suck?

[Willets Point]

I didn't say The Frames suck, I just said that one particular song is overwrought. Anyhow, thank you for letting me know that the movie is better than its trailer.

[metirish]

Check out "Revelate" from them,great song.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Just watched this. Nice little uncomplicated captivating funny sad ambiguous little picture. I never heard of the singer or his songs but enjoyed them.

[metirish]

Got this over the Christmas and started watching it one night, got to the scene where they enter the music shop and started playing "Falling Slowly" when company called round and I turned it off,went back to Blockbuster the next day so I've not seen the rest.

Did get the soundtrack, pretty good.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I completely dug this movie. I have 3 Frames albums and mostly like them, but I really, really love this guy singing with this chick.

I thought it was a perfect, little ending and you can't beat "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy".

Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

[Vic Sage]

liked it alot.

Never heard of the Frames, but i absolutely loved the songs and will be picking up the soundtrack.

There's an honesty and purity about this film that i found touching and profound.

[A Boy Named Seo]

The soundtrack's really, really good. The versions of the songs are fuller in production than they appear in the movie, but they're no less beautiful.

Here's that Academy Award nominated tune performed on a sidewalk in Utah apparently.

[metirish]

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will be preforming at the Academy Awards Sunday.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Best Foreign Film at the Spirit awards yesterday. Seen it a couple times now and still just love it.

[Valadius]

They won for Best Song at the Oscars.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Tickets for Glen and Marketa @ Radio City Music Hall go on sale tomorrow for any of you interested.

05/19 | Radio City Music Hall | New York, NY | PRESALE 02/27 10 am/EST - 02/28 10 pm/EST | password: once | link

[Guest AG/DC]

Predict now the date of cultural Once saturation.

[metirish]

I'm avoiding the Irish Voice and Irish Echo this week.

[Guest sharpie]

Saw it last night. It was okay. Two appealing actors but way too many cutesy montages.

[Guest AG/DC]

AG/DC wrote: Predict now the date of cultural Once saturation.

No more entries; we have a winner. If you had July 27, 2008, please step forward and collect your prize.

[Vic Sage]

Fred Zollo is producing a musical stage version of ONCE.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Splitsville.