MEOW!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I can't think of a more appropriate and wonderful film to review today.
Nostalgic Insights: Once is EXTREMELY nostalgic to me in many ways. The first time I got introduced to it was during one boring night, when I was looking up random Oscar goodies on the internet. Then, I came across a video of two people singing "Falling Slowly," and as soon as I finished it, I showed it to my sister Erin. A couple of weeks later, we're singing an a capella cover of it during a fundraiser at St. Bartholomew's Church in Manchester. We then sang it during a talent show in the First Congregational Church of Vernon. From then on, it became one of our signature songs, as it seemed to become one to other duos across America.
And after all this time, I have never seen the film that inspired such a song to be written. In 2011, I got around to renting Once at the local Blockbuster near where I live, and on a cold winter's night, I plopped the disc into the DVD player in my room, not knowing what to entirely expect.
This film...oh gosh...
At that point in my life, Once was the best film that I have ever seen. "Falling Slowly" was one of the few perfect moments in cinematic history. The simplicity of its beautiful story struck a chord (music pun) deep in my very soul. The cinematography, though only with a budget of $160,000 (more on that later in this review), felt more passionate than any big-budgeted special effects extravaganza. And the music...if I ever get to meet Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova in person, I will shake their hands and say "Both of you have made me proud to be Irish. And green. But mostly Irish." Even on a dimly lit projection screen on my wall, movie magic was made that night. And I only had to rent it for a couple of bucks.
So what do I think of Once today?
Critical Insights: I want to emphasize one aspect about this film which I believe has been emphasized before: $160,000. That's how much money it took to make this film: One-Hundred and Sixty BLOODY THOUSAND DOLLARS. That's about .0001 of how much OZ: The Great and Powerful costs. How Once was able to create the purest of movie magic with only that much money will go down as one of the most impressive cinematic mysteries.
Once is the most impressive movie musical I've ever seen. As much as I love movie musicals when done absolutely right, this film takes it to a whole new level of greatness, aside from the fact that, once again, it's made for one-hundred and sixty-THOUSAND BLOODY DOLLARS! From the moment Guy (Glen Hansard) plays his guitar and sings out of raw emotion, a wave of the wand is cast is on the viewer. Then, for the next eighty-five minutes, you get to know two ordinary people who both share a passion for one beautiful thing: music. And along with the poetic beauty, and sometimes intensity of Hansard and Iglova's lyrics, everything is one-hundred percent brilliant, and one-hundred percent natural.
Even the so-called 'traditional' love story doesn't feel forced or overly sentimental. When the Guy meets the Girl (Marketa Iglova) for the first time, they don't meet at a ball or some fancy dance. No, they meet on the street, which is one of the few naturalistic forms of fate, other than meeting in a regular classroom or an expansive cafeteria. From then on, they gracefully avoid the familiar pitfalls that you would find in a conventional romantic drama. They don't pretend to be people that they're not, they don't have a make-out session to express their love to each other (In fact, only one scene has one of them kissing the other person's cheek), and believe it or not, it has a surprisingly honest and mature ending. Without giving too much away, it works. It may be unfair, but it works. It's life. To life. Lechaim.
It also helps that the music is about as good as music can get in this day and age. I've already mentioned how much "Falling Slowly" means the world to me, but there are also a few more stand-outs. "Say It To Me Now," is a mesmerizing and captivating way to open the picture; one shot of a man playing his guitar while singing his broken heart out will give you the MMC's--Movie Musical Chills. "If You Want Me" is a haunting melody that is sung by Girl as she listens to it on her walkman in the night; I am certain that had sparked a creative discussion revolving around the iPod touch at Apple, inc. "The Hill" is a heartbreaking number that allows Girl to reveal her personal troubles, and "When Your Mind's Made Up" is one exhilarating roller coaster ride through the emotional chord of music.
And let me emphasize again: it was made for one-hundred and SIXTY THOUSAND BLOODY DOLLARS! If your dream is to become a film-maker one day, watch this film and prepare to be inspired. Some of the shots in this film--the busy streets of Dublin, the sunrise on an open beach, the expansive shots of Guy and Girl riding on a motorcycle together--are so breathtaking that you'd think that they were created by a professional. Even if it were, my opinion would remain the same: In terms of film-making, it's a beautiful work of art.
I got into a debate with another person believing that Once is not a movie musical, but instead a movie with music in it. I can see how people would feel that way, as nobody randomly breaks out into song like in The Sound of Music (which, of course, will be reviewed later in the month of March). But on the other hand, the characters in this film do sing, and the songs are integrated naturally throughout the narrative. So personally, that's more than enough to make it a 'movie-musical' in my book. Also, I had to write a review based off an Irish movie musical in honor of St. Patrick's Day, so...I had no other alternative.
Once is one miracle of a movie musical. It's beautifully shot with just a budget of one-hundred and SIXTY THOUSAND BLI'll stop here, along with a simple story given emotional depth thanks to two instantly relatable characters, and an absolutely wonderful soundtrack with lyrics that are spoken through a broken, poetic heart. Oh, and did I mention this film makes me proud to be Irish? For all those reasons and more, Once is the most impressive movie musical I've ever seen, and I hope you get a chance to see it...well...Once!
{THE MPAA STRIKES OUT AGAIN!: The R-rating is meant for a few uses of the F-word in the beginning of the film. Had that scene been taken out, I wouldn't imagine seeing the rest of the film with anything more than a PG-rating. Let your ten-year-old become introduced to the wonderful world of Once.}
Out of five four-leaf clovers, I give Once...
Until next time,
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
and MEOW, of course!
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