Yesterday I watched a movie that’s been on my “to do” list forever—actually, forever might be a tad overstated; I’ve wanted to see it since it was released in 2007. The movie that I’m writing about is Once. Retrospectively, I must say, it was just what my creative spirit needed. This film managed to please both the songwriter and scriptwriter in me, and was filmed with such a beautiful simplicity which from my perspective, seemed to amplify the foundations of innocence that are often highlighted while exploring new relationships.
In a paragraph, Once is a naturalistic drama based in Dublin, Ireland, about two young musicians—a busking, singer/songwriter—‘Guy’ (played by Glen Hansard) who meets and befriends a young piano loving/playing Czech girl—‘Girl’ (played by Markéta Irglová). Written and directed by John Carey (who used to play in a band with Hansard), the film is based on some of Hansard’s busking anecdotes along with his song collaborations with Irglová and tells a great story with Carey’s creative licence colouring beyond the borders and adding to the story to create memorable story telling in film.
Although the film is filled with great music, the song “Falling Slowly” written and performed by the duo won the 2007 Academy Award for best original song—and had Glenn Hansard declaring “we shot it on two handy cams … it took us three weeks, we made it for a hundred grand and we never thought we’d come into a room like this and be in front of you people … make art; make art!”
I especially liked the sentiment expressed by Markéta who later added “… the fact that we’re able to hold this (referring to the award) is just to prove that no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible … and, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream … don’t give up”—a brilliant reminder not only to all independent artists, but all human beings.
While the lead role was originally slated for someone with an established acting profile and considering that the Hansard and Markéta had minimal and no acting experience respectively, it’s so refreshing to see such awesome results for a couple of independent singer/songwriters who dared, while dreaming, to stand hand in hand and take a leap of faith into the unknown, trusting that their own wings of self belief would find somewhere safe for them to land.
This link below is the trailer for a movie that I believe most people would want to see more than “Once”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6xIF92OUos