Fine indie film, especially meaningful to musicians (MILD SPOILERS)

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2007)

If you have struggled to become an artist, or even wonder what that kind of life is like, you will find some real meaning in "Once." The passion with which The Guy plays on the street from the outset is a tip-off that this is going to be a special film. Hollywood would have made a much different, glossier version of this film (and still may, since it has all the elements.) I loved the ragged edges of the story and the unresolved questions: will The Guy make it in London? Will The Girl's marriage work out? Will the band stay together and sell records? Will Paul McGuinness discover them and have them open for U2?
The setting is a grittier Dublin than seems to now exist, so that in itself is a treasure. (I still half-expected Bono to appear in some fashion but there is no trace of him.) My main quibble with the film is that the production values in parts are simply awful, especially during the long flashback scene where The Guy is thinking about The Girl That Got Away. It is more amateurish than it needs to be, especially since parts of the film look just fine. Still, this is a movie for film lovers and music lovers and anyone who wonders if there's a world beyond Pop Idol or American Idol.