Once viewed twice

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2019)

Once is a raw, witty, infectious film. On second viewing, I found it to rise in my favour. This is in no part down to the composition of songs that are so beautifully constructed and sung that they could be hits in current popular culture.
The two leads Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (only seventeen at time of film) are named merely Him and Her. We don't notice this. It's not to show off a stylistic choice. What do we get from their names?
The film doesn't spend time on particulars. It alludes to the character's respective past, and the predicaments of their situation, predominantly from their music. Nonetheless, the conversational narrative is charming. From the get go neither character pulls any punches in what they think about the other. In a Dublin town centre Her questions Him why he doesn't play the song he's performed at daytime. Him tells her that people want to hear familiar music and the ten cents she gave him evidences his point.
People may question Marketa Irglova's accent as she is a Czech immigrant living in Ireland. Although at times the Irish accent came through a little forcefully, it truly appeared indicative of someone who had moved to an alien country and was learning from imitation.