Once

Directed by: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Bill Hodnett, Danuse Ktrestova
Running Time: 1h 25min

Once is one of those rare cinematic gems that gains so much more from its modest budget, giving the viewer a visceral experience, as though we are watching two real strangers meet and make musical magic. By paring down the gloss that comes with slick Hollywood production, we get an emotionally sparkling romance that hits all the right notes.

Hansard and Irglova are professional musicians, not actors, and you wouldn't notice. The director's decision to cast them pays off fantastically, because the minute these two connect through their music, we're hooked. The sincerity in their voices, the expression in their playing speaks better than most actors do with words. Carney wisely situates the camera during the most powerful songs, and lets the music do the talking. I dare anyone to watch this film and not find themselves humming the tunes immediately after, not to mention a few weeks later.

This film stays with you because it is so beautifully pure and honest. The way these two meet, grow to know and love one another and delve deeper into each other's hearts and souls is so charmingly played out. Their characters are so convincingly real, supported by their family and kind of lost at the moment they meet, that the healing that's done fills our hearts as well. For those of you that are scared off by the terms i've used, there are plenty of laughs, and admitedly, some songs do drag, but you will be captivated and compelled to see this to the end, as there's enough air of mystery and realism that never leaves you certain until the end. Stick with it and you will be forever grateful for the treasure that this film is. Truly one of a kind.

Grade: A-