An unexpectedly satisfying celebration of love and music

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2010)

I've always found the singer/songwriting duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova aka The Swell Season mildly curious: a fiery, nervous Irishman and an unassuming, shy flower from the Czech Republic. There had to be an interesting story there. But until a few days ago I had no idea they made this movie. They even won an academy award for it!
What a gem. It's a love story that discards the usual Hollywood payoff. On first viewing I wondered what was the point? The movie was drenched in music and the boy doesn't get the girl at the end. Is this a romance or a music video?
It turns out it's both and each holds up the other quite well. The "guy" is a Dublin street musician who churns out one song after another lamenting a busted relationship and yearning to get past it. The "girl" is something of a mystery. A Czech immigrant and mother of a toddler who has fled to Ireland to escape a difficult marriage and a family tragedy.
In the course of the movie both shed a bit of light into each others world. She sees quite clearly at the beginning that his music will win his old flame back. And he refuses to believe that, feeling fiercely that she's the answer to his pain. In turn his furious creative outlet gives her an opportunity to do what motherhood and circumstance have made difficult - creative expression through music.
In the space of what seems like a week or two they make music together in a music store, a cramped bedroom, dinner halls and a recording studio and over that time come to terms with the knotty relationships in their lives. The movie ends on a very satisfying note - not necessarily for the audience but certainly for the characters. The "guy" finally gathers the strength to seriously pursue a music career, patch things up with his old girlfriend and move beyond old betrayals. The "girl" receives a gift from him in return and the confidence to move forward with her musical talent while juggling a reconciled marriage, motherhood and finding her place in a foreign country.
All good love stories are about chemistry between two people and this one is no different but the Hollywood stories we're used to almost all end with consummation. This film avoids that well-worn path in favor of something more satisfying I think - that of old difficulties resolved and the creation of art which speaks to that journey.
A triumph of incredibly low-budget independent film.