Netflix found it in it’s heart today to send me Once. Let me start off by saying that this was a great movie. However, if you are expecting Across the Universe, then you will be disappointed. This is a movie where the songs are songs, not a form of narrative. That said, they are great songs. Everyone of them is emotional and meaningful, and it seems like, even though they practiced these many many times, they still have meaning to the artists.
The story revolves around a street musician (Guy, played by Glen Hansard) and an immigrant flower girl (Girl, played by Markéta Irglová) who cross paths and semi-hit it off romantically. After a week or so together he says that he is leaving town, and that he wants to record his songs in the studio with her playing the piano before he goes. She agrees and they gather some more backing musicians. Instead of degrading into a romance movie where the couple falls in love, they take a more realistic approach to love and show that, even though two people might be made for each other, life often has other plans, and getting these two lovers together might be more difficult than you would think.
All in all, it might be able to qualify as a “chick-flick” or “make-out movie”, but only if you are a jerk and can’t appreciate a good movie. You’ll be hard pressed to find much Hollywood in this, but being that it was shot for less that 200k, it’s not a big surprise, and definatly not missed. So, if you like musicals about real people in real life, and not just a bunch of singing and dancing, this is your movie. If you like High School Musical, then stay away, you’ll only be disappointed.
5/5 stars
