A well-told little tale.

Rating: 5/10 (6 December 2011)

"Once" demonstrates that entertainment can be made for what was likely less than 3 weeks craft services budget on "Avatar." It recounts a week in the life of a busker and an immigrant hustler who find inspiration to take a leap of faith to move forward rather than continuing to rely on excuse that start with "once...". Despite being unnamed the lead character quickly become important to the audience in a way CGI-driven leads in "Avatar" and the film that beat it for the Best Film Oscar "The Hurt Locker" never did. The music feels authentic as does the dialog and plot again in contrast to most of the implausible story lines fostered on today's audience. However, all this simplicity comes at a price. This is a short story with a plot that feels more like a transitional chapter than a complete tale of any sort. While Hansard and Irglova produce touching music together, there really isn't much of it and the third time around the same duet tends to lose some of its charm. In short it worth watching unless you haven't seen the somewhat similar (also about musicians at the career crossroads in Dublin) "The Commitments" in which case see that instead.