Film Reviews

Once

• Rating:
• Director: John Carney.
• Starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova, Bill Hodnet.
• Details: Ireland / 85mins (15A).

When he's not working in his father's repair shop, heartsick Hansard spends his time busking on the streets of Dublin. One night, he catches the eye of Irglova's pretty Czech singerstreet hawker, who notices that he isn't playing the standard hits he usually plays during the day. The next day she arrives in his shop and takes him to a music store where they allow her to play piano. They work on a tune together and romance seems imminent. However, Hansard still laments for his ex and Irglova doesn't know what to do about the husband she left back home. Is it just me or are Irish movies slowly but surely getting better? In the last ten years the Irish film industry has given us little gems every now and then and Once can be added to the growing tally that includes I Went Down, Adam And Paul and Intermission. Taking its cue from Before Sunrise, Once is a musical with a difference - it's a small story that doesn't let music get in the way of the characters or the plot. Carney proves that a lack of a budget won't inhibit a good story, interesting people and, of course, great tunes. Hansard and Irglova put in assured performances and I'm sure that making an album together really helped the on-screen chemistry they share. This isn't the usual rags-to-riches story, it's a moment in time shared by two people searching for a great moment in time and isn't that all we can hope for in life? Once is a movie for music lovers - and you don't even have to like The Frames.

Review by Gavin Burke