Hear my song

Rating: 5/10 (19 February 2017)

Once is a nice twee film that by and large avoids the 'Oirish' stereotypes and tries to be true to its feelings even though it is bittersweet.
The main characters are nameless. He is a busker trying to make a living when someone is not stealing his takings and also repairs vacuum cleaners in his father's repair shop. She is a Czech immigrant who asks him to repair her vacuum cleaner and she also plays piano.
Together they meet and decide to produce and record music together, he writes a song to win his ex-girlfriend back who is in London. She has a toddler living with her and her mother as well as a husband back in the Czech republic.
The film has been compared to 'Brief Encounter', I see it as an urban, streetwise romantic drama which certainly dangles a sweet love story but also hints that they have other factors that threaten to keep them apart. It is also a small scale film filled with some good songs which elevates the film more than it deserves to as the story is too basic.