Interesting Tale.

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2007)

Watching the opening sequence of this film you might be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled into a screening of Jackass. Or Candid Camera (if anyone out there is old enough to remember that?) The Guy (Glen Hansard) is busking on the streets of Dublin, when a drunk runs off with his takings, sitting in his guitar case. Thrusting his guitar into the hands of a startled stranger, the Guy gives chase across town to retrieve his money.
The camera work looks like it was shot with a hidden lens, which it may well have been, and it sets the scene for the movie which has the feel of cinéma vérité. I can appreciate that it's not a style to everyone's taste, and there are certainly moments when the film has a distinctly amateurish feel, but this is not a movie which is pretending to be a Hollywood blockbuster or a big budget pot-boiler, despite the nominations and awards. It's a small movie with a low key, little known cast (little known here in the USA anyway), and the filming style gives it a naturalistic, intimate feel. Which I assume is the intention, so it could be considered a success, even if the style leaves many people puzzled.
The Guy sings popular songs during the day, interspersed with work in his dad's vacuum cleaner repair shop, but at night he sings his own songs. And that's when the Girl (Markéta Irglová) stops to listen to him. She is an immigrant, and is having the full immigrant experience, working several jobs, cleaning houses, selling flowers on the street and taking care of her baby and her mother. And her vacuum cleaner needs fixing. But superficial appearances are deceptive; she's a classically trained pianist, and, like the Guy, also a talented musician. Lacking a piano, she slips into a city music shop to play the instruments there. She left her husband back home in the Czech Republic to come to the West and try to make a success of her life. The movie follows the lives of the Guy and the Girl over the course of several days as they explore their burgeoning mutual, creative interests, her words and keyboard skills giving his songs depth. Their relationship centers around the music, but will it ever be more? His clumsy attempt at seduction is rebuffed, but it's obvious they have a mutual attraction.
Rounding up some other musicians from the streets of Dublin, they rent a studio to make a demo. Afterwards, demos in hand, the Guy goes off to London, seeking fame, fortune and his ex. But the Girl has responsibilities and can't go with him, having a baby and a mother to support. She enriched his creative process, but will probably be left behind now. Life intervenes. (Let's hope she signed a royalties deal..) I found it interesting, and fresh, and I enjoyed the opportunity to watch something just a little bit different from the usual cinematic fare. I quite liked the music, but on reflection I doubt we'll be humming it a year from now, (it is a little over wrought.) On the whole I thought this was a pleasant movie. It's not earth-shatteringly good, but it's touching, and an original look at the creative process and human relationships, shot in an unusual style. My husband thought it quite wonderful, and trotted straight off to the music store to buy the soundtrack.