Once

Once is one of those films that is benefiting greatly from word of mouth. It is a simple Irish folk musical. Yeah, it's a musical, and yeah I despise musicals. But this is more of a story that involves musicians, and those musicians write good music.

Glen Hansard plays Guy, a street musician who is mourning the loss of a romance. He is trying to do everything he can to get his music out there and make a living doing what he loves. One day he meets Girl, played by Marketa Irglovna, and they start a friendship. She is a classically trained Czech pianist and vocalist, so they start writing and playing music together. What makes the film a "good musical" is that these two are actual musicians, and they wrote the tunes that are featured in the film. The music has a Damien Rice vibe to it, so know that going in. The film follows the creative journey of Guy, his quest to make music and move to London, and his pursuit of Girl.

The relationship between the two is interesting and very dangerous. Guy "falls in love" with Girl, but Girl is married, we find out later. She just doesn't take into account what signs she is sending out. If you are married, you just can't have close relationships with the opposite sex. It's too complicated and dangerous. But these two just move along and pretend like everything is good and fine, much like Lost in Translation. Interesting fodder for thought and conversation.

Once is an honest work of starving artists. It is a "low-budget" film that succeeds on many levels, because of its straightforwardness and transparency. The music is great, the idea is creative and unique, and the people are interesting to watch. This film has garnered a great deal of praise from critics throughout the year, and is appearing all over top ten lists that come up this time of year. The film is about heartache, about passion, about creativity and the pursuit of self-expression.