[Click To Enlarge]
Email A Friend - Gift Reminder |
Once
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping [details]
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$19.98
$9.99*
|
| Part No: | B000X1Z0BU |
| Manufacturer: | 20th Century Fox |
| MFG Part: | FOXD2247759D |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
|
|
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 86 minutes Rating: R
Winner of the World Audience Award at Sundance, Once starts out as a small-scale romance, like Before Sunrise, before arriving somewhere unexpected. An Irish busker (Glen Hansard, the
Frames and
The Commitments) meets a Czech flower seller (Markéta Irglová) while singing on the streets of Dublin. (In the credits, they're listed as Guy and Girl.) She likes what she hears and lets him know. Turns out she's a musician, too. They work on a few songs together and a friendship is forged. She lives with her widowed mother, who doesn't speak English. He lives with his widowed father, who owns a repair shop. Since he broke up with his girlfriend, the guy has been drifting, unable and unwilling to get his life in order. The girl encourages him to pursue a record deal, and the guy emerges from his funk. Then he makes a move on the girl, who rejects his advances. He's confused, but as he comes to find, there's a reason she's keeping her distance. Though
Once is filled with appealing folk-pop by Hansard and Irglová (released on CD as
The Swell Season), the movie isn't a traditional musical, but rather a more optimistic
Brief Encounter. Filmmaker John Carney, Hansard's former bandmate, captures the real city--in all its affluence and poverty--rather than the picture postcard version. His beautifully shot film serves as a heartfelt ballad about all the underclass Guys and Girls swept aside amidst Ireland's economic miracle. --
Kathleen C. Fennessy Beyond Once on DVD
Musicals on DVD | 
Once: The Soundtrack | 
More from Fox |
Stills from Once
| Wonderful message of believing in yourself | 2008-12-21 | 5 / 5 |
|
| This movie shows that you should follow your passion, never give up, respect other's differences and do the right thing. What more could you want? The music is great, too. Loved it and gave it to others for Christmas. |
| Beautiful film | 2008-12-20 | 5 / 5 |
|
I loved this movie! This is one of those special little films that starts out slowly but just reaches out and touches your heart. By the end of the film, I fell in love with the characters and the music they made together was so beautiful. I am now online buying the movie and soundtrack for friends for Christmas.
Truly a very special and enjoyable film. |
|
| The story was slow and I didn't get overly attached to the characters. If I had seen the movie before I purchased it, I wouldn't have purchased it. |
| You will love this movie. | 2008-12-09 | 4 / 5 |
|
Once tells the story of an Irish guy (played by Glen Hansard) who's nursing a broken heart. He's a musician, and all his songs seem to be about a particular ex-girlfriend. He plays his guitar and sings in the street for change, also working in his father's vacuum cleaner repair shop to make money.
One day, our guy meets a girl (played by Marketa Irglova). The girl, a Czech immigrant, has a young daughter, and she works like crazy (flower seller, paper seller, etc.) to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Turns out, she's also a musician. She plays the piano and writes songs.
The two feel an immediate affinity for one another, and pretty soon, they are playing songs together. The girl has immense confidence in our guy, and she helps him get a small business loan so that he can record a professional demo in a Dublin studio. They get a small band together, haggle with a sound guy over studio space, and spend a wonderful weekend cutting the demo, which everyone pretty much agrees is brilliant.
Over the course of the film, we realize that the two are falling for each other, but the ending is not trite and syrupy. It's real.
What I loved about this movie - The film was shot in a little over two weeks and with a tiny budget. It feels like you are listening in on other people's lives. There is no posturing here, no "acting." Just understated conversations and amazing music. In a movie about musicians, it makes sense that most of the screen time is either spent playing music or talking about music. And the music, largely written and performed by Hansard and Irglova, is wonderful.
This is a not-to-be-missed film. One of the primary songs in the film, "Falling Slowly," won the Oscar for original music last year. It's gorgeous and deserved the win. |
|
| This movie has a "real" feel to it and pulls the viewer in through the palable characters and the great music. I just started playing guitar so this was inspiring to watch. If you love music and movies then this is sure to make you feel good! :) |
)
