A simple yet amazing piece of cinema

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2010)

"Once" is a story about a guy who works with his father in a vacuum cleaner repair shop, and when he's not working, he plays his guitar in the streets for money, until he meets a girl who's also a musician, and they start to play together and record songs. It's not about big time musicians or famous and rich people, it's a film about you, and about me. It could happen to anyone. I love how the main characters are not depicted by any name at all; it just strengthens this concept even more. The "guy" isn't anyone, and he might as well be anyone. If I had to sum up the whole movie in one word I'd say "simplicity". At least for me, simplicity and innocence are two main keywords to describe this film. From characters, camera work (most of the time the camera is hand-held and has a documentary feeling) and concept, it spells simplicity all over the place; all the characters are so straightforward and casual its weird for us audiences. Maybe because the "guy' and the "girl" actors are not real professionals, but actual musicians. I might be wrong, or imagining things but one of the most remarkable scenes in the movie for me is in the very beginning, when the two main characters meet, and she finds out that Guy repair vacuum cleaners, and by coincidence, she had a broken on at home. She talks him into giving a look at it, and brings him to him next day. He says he can't repair it right there because he didn't have the right tools, and then they went to the repair shop, but first they go to a music store where they play together for the first time. This whole sequence is just amazing. As I already said, this movie is so simple, it comes of as being so trivial you can imagine yourself there, walking around the street carrying a cheap vacuum cleaner around. I don't know exactly why but seeing the "girl" carrying that thing around really got up to me. Well, I could do silly commentary about this movie for a whole day but I think it's better for you people to watch for yourselves and see what I mean. It's a great European romance, totally deprived of Hollywood clichés. If you want a low budget independent movie that'll make you think, look no further, and grab this one.