"Take this sinking boat and point it home..."

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2008)

"At first they are flirting, and by the end they're f***ing like animals", says writer/director John Carney of the scene in "Once" where the guy (Glen Hansard) and the girl (Marketa Irglova) sing "Falling Slowly" for the first time. It's a beautiful song, understated like the whole movie; and it's not only a beautiful scene, but also one of the most truly moving cinematographic scenes I've ever seen.
I know the feeling; I've sung with people I didn't know whether they could do it well and been amazed beyond words; I've fallen in love playing music. It's not the romantic relationship kind of love; it's something from a completely different universe. Anyone who says "Once" is a bad film has to be either a music hater ora music hater.
Once in a lifetime you'll watch a movie like "Once", because from now if you experience something similar it's going to come from here. Carney and his team, the emotional photography of the digital camera and the austere use of light; Hansard, his earnest voice and uncompromising songs; Irglova, her unique smile and the mystique that surround her; they might have created a completely new film genre I wouldn't dare to give a name to.
I regret some unnecessary moments where Carney takes the viewer for granted by showing characters smiling when they listen to the music this guy and this girl play. We don't need to see the typical shot of the 'approving face'; we like it and we approve it and that should be enough.
You want to laugh? You will, watching five musicians getting into a studio and not knowing what to do. You want to rejoice? You can close you eyes and listen to the music that, even when it shares some similarities with my beloved Damien Rice, comes from a parallel world that (I'm starting to think) only exists in Ireland. You might cry too, but that's depending on how sensitive you are.
One last thing: this is not a romantic comedy and it doesn't even come close to one. But if it were, I would hand an immense compliment to the story because it is, yes, very romantic and unlike anything you've seen. Free of clichés, formulas and (predictable or not) convenient endings. Don't lie to yourselves, because you know those are the main characteristics of a rom-com and you wouldn't like them if they were any different.
"I don't know you but I want you even more for that"  from "Falling Slowly"