Like a musical Before Sunrise

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2008)

The Hollywood musical machine is back in full form with colorful designs, elaborate sets, and big name stars here to take Broadway to the big screen. Yet as combination of jukebox musicals and movies turned musicals turned movies yet again barrage the big screen, it's a simple little tale called "Once" that takes an entirely different approach.
"Once" is probably more minimalist than the Hollywood musical format. It has an interesting approach, in that the music in the film are mostly performance pieces. Yet they forward the story along more than most of the current crop of musicals.
The story is quite simple. A Czech immigrant and poor Irishman meet and realize they share a fondness of music and start writing music together. Like any partnership, we see how their music progresses as well as their personal relationship.
But this isn't some cheap love story or rags to riches story. Rather, the characters share their stories, their desires, and their feelings in the ever so brief but affective spoken dialogue, and flesh them out in their songs. It doesn't have any sugar coated artificial sentiment either. There's a sincerity that flows in the characters throughout the film.
The characters in this film seem very real. Perhaps its their struggling nature and that they aren't larger than life characters. One of my favorite scenes in the movie summarizes both the normalcy of the characters and their sincere passion towards art. There is a scene where the girl is listening to music and trying to think of words to write for it and is so caught up in it that she gets frustrated when the batteries run out on the CD player and scrambles trying to find them. It's a simple yet beautiful scene that captures the spirit of the film.
What makes the film such a fantastic feel good film is the friendship between the two main characters and the special bond they have. The chance encounter and how they accomplish much in such a little time reminded me very much of Before Sunrise. I have a feeling if that were a musical, it might look something like Once, an excellent, simple feel good musical.