Sunday, September 19, 2010

Once: How often do you meet the right person?


Half movie, half musical, a low budget movie which was very successful in 2007. However, not being a huge fan of movies, I came across it just yesterday. The main roles are played by the musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová who also composed and performed all of the songs and they are simply amazing! Not being familiar with the musicians before watching the movie, I initially thought it's a movie about Damien Rice as the songs and their lyrics very much remind of his style. Also the age mismatch between the main characters brings memories of Damien's Volcano. Well,I did a quick research and there is at least no official information that the movie is in anyway related to Damien Rice. The story line is very simple, there are no special effects, the main characters are professional musicians and most of the songs featured in the movie are performed in full length. 

A girl and a guy meet on the streets of Dublin. He is a 30 something street musician who fixes vacuum cleaners during the day to earn money. She is a young Czech immigrant in her early twenties who sells flowers in the streets and cleans houses to make a living. The Girl plays piano but due to circumstances she only plays pianos for sale in a piano shop. The girl  is attracted by one of the songs the guy has composed himself. She starts a conversation about the song and their passion for music draws them together. The meeting is followed by a week during which they will get to know each other better. The Girl will learn that the song which the Guy has composed is dedicated to his ex girlfriend who now lives in London. They were together for long time but she cheated on him and they broke up. However, he still misses her. The Guy will find out that the Girl is married and has a two year-old daughter. At the time though, she is separated with the little girl's father. When the Guy asks her whether she still loves her husband she replies to him in Czech "No, I love you" but she refuses to translate the meaning for him and he never learns her reply. Eventually, he decides to move to London but before that he decides to record a few songs. Since he likes her singing and piano playing, he suggests to her to make the recording together. After a very tense weekend they make the recording which is so good that It's very liked by the studio manager who was initially very sceptical of their performance. Upon hearing the songs, the Guy's father decides to give him money to go to London to pursue a career as a musician...Before departing for London, the Guy tries to find the Girl. He couldn't find her and in the end, he goes to the piano shop and orders a piano for her. He is at the airport waiting for boarding when the piano is brought to her house. Her husband is there too and they seem to have reunited. She is looking through the window probably recalling the past week.

It's one of those movies that trigger your romantic streak, very touching and very realistic. 
You keep on asking yourself what would have happened if they have met in different settings.



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