On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 1/48 |
Kim Hollis |
A movie to be treasured. Celebrates the power of music to bring people together, and has a song in 5/4 time! |
| 2/34 |
Dan Krovich |
Beautifully simple and romantic. |
| 10/46 |
Les Winan |
Thoughtful and subtle, it's the rare movie musical that doesn't make me want to puke. |
| 25/214 |
Max Braden |
The shaky camera work may be too indie for some audiences, and the songs too angsty, but this is a strong bittersweet romance. |
| 26/50 |
Michael Bentley |
It's a bore at first, but finds its way into a nice, little budding romance musical. |
Once is a modern-day musical that takes place on the streets of Dublin. The story follows a busker (aka street performer) who makes the best living he can by playing guitar and working in his father's vacuum cleaner repair shop. One day, he meets a young woman who sells roses on the same street where he works. She's a Czech immigrant, and she tells him she likes his song. Coincidentally, she also has a broken vacuum cleaner.
It's not long before the pair is meeting up in a local music store. She can't afford a piano, but the owner of the store is kind enough to let her play his floor models. The two new friends begin to develop a musical connection and decide that they will record an album together.
The film stars professional musicians rather than actors. Glen Hansard, the frontman of the well-known Irish band the Frames and Marketa Irglova, a real-life Czech singer/songwriter, create the musical bond of the film. It was well-received when it played at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and promises to be a hit on the art house circuit. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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