Once will give you a unique experience and realism that we normally don't get out of Hollywood

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2007)

(My Synopsis) A Guy (with no name - Glen Hansard of the Irish band Frames) is singing his heart out on the streets of Dublin for tip money. One day a Czech Girl (with no name - Marketa Irglova) stops to listen to the Guy play his music. She is very impressed by his songs and she asks if he wrote his own music. The Guy says that he writes and loves to play his own songs to himself even if the street crowd wants to hear other music. It is nice to earn tips, but that is not what his music is all about. The Guy lives at home and helps his father repair vacuum cleaners, but he has a dream of becoming a recording star. His girlfriend of many years has just left him and is now living in London. You can tell what this has done to his emotions, because it is being reflected in his new songs. The Girl who happens to have a broken vacuum cleaner also has a musical background of playing the piano and writing songs. Their music brings them together and the Girl begins to help the Guy realize his dream. They begin to share their music and their feeling for each other. They put together a band with other street players and rent a recording studio for the weekend to record two demos. This could be the start of a new and wonderful life.
(My Comment) The storyline is almost like a reality TV show. The people are not actors, and they are naturally doing things in their lives that they just want to do. This is not your typical Hollywood movie as to the ending and especially the costs. The writer/director John Carney made the film in 17 days for an unbelievable $130,000. John Carney did not have the expensive steady cam cameras, but he used hand held cameras with telephoto lens so he wouldn't have to get a permit to film in Dublin. You will notice the movement of the pictures and hopefully it will not give you motion sickness, because it gives the film a raw feeling which in turn makes it feel real to the audience. Hansard and Irglova are charming together and very supportive of each other. All three people were at the screening that I attended, and they had a Q&A session and sang 4 songs after the movie. The three have been friends for many years. That is why I said that the movie is like a reality TV show, where friends got together to make music. Hearing them perform live after the movie, I recognize that it was the same performance that I saw on the screen. Now as for the music, personally, I liked some of the songs, but most of the music was not the type of music that I would listen to on the radio. Overall the film will give you a unique experience and realism that we normally don't get out of Hollywood. (Fox Searchlight, Run time 1:25, Rated R) (7/10)