We'd agreed at the beginning of the season to schedule a chic flick - and then the male portion of the committee held its collective breath while the female portion decided what to screen.
Fortunately the final choice was a film that appealed to our entire demographic - and the provision of cupcakes and the sale of Prosecco meant that we attracted a good audience. I'd already seen Once on DVD, but it was far better second time around on a big screen. Also, while writing my notes, it was good to read a review by Roger Ebert again - he was a superb critic.
Here are my notes:
Once
Here is the trailer:
Fortunately the final choice was a film that appealed to our entire demographic - and the provision of cupcakes and the sale of Prosecco meant that we attracted a good audience. I'd already seen Once on DVD, but it was far better second time around on a big screen. Also, while writing my notes, it was good to read a review by Roger Ebert again - he was a superb critic.
Here are my notes:
Once
Ireland 2006 86
minutes
Director: John
Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa
Irglova, Alistair Foley
Awards and Nominations
- Won
Oscar for Best Original Song (“Falling Slowly”)
- A
further 16 wins and 21 nominations
“I gave it my Special
Jury Prize, which is sort of an equal first; no movie was going to budge Juno off the top of my
list. Once was shot for next to nothing in 17 days, doesn't even give
names to its characters, is mostly music with not a lot of dialog, and is
magical from beginning to end. It's one
of those films where you hold your breath, hoping it knows how good it is, and
doesn't take a wrong turn. It doesn't. Even the ending is the right ending, the more
you think about it.”
Roger
Ebert
An unnamed Irish
busker (Glen Hansard) meets a young Czech emigree (Marketa Irglova) on the
streets of Dublin as he performs his music and they become friends. He wants to go to London to find fame and
meet up with his ex-girlfriend; she likes him and his music so she raises the
money to help him achieve his ambition.
Once
spent years in development with the Irish Film Board and finally, in a period
when the Board had no chief executive, the board gave the film the go-ahead - but
with a budget of just €150,000
rather than the higher budget originally requested. This meant a the use of natural light and
real locations, with the director’s friends and family performing as
extras. Originally Cillian Murphy (The Wind
That Shakes the Barley (2006), The Dark
Knight (2008) and Inception
(2010)) had been cast in the lead role, but he withdrew as he was unwilling to
act against non-professional Marketa Irglova.
Glen Hansard’s only previous acting experience had been a minor role in The Commitments (1991) although he was a
member of Frames, a band he had
founded in 1990 and in which director John Carney had once played bass. Hansard wrote all the songs that he performs
throughout the film.
After initial
screenings at the Sundance and Dublin Film Festivals (where it received the
audience award from both) the film went on general release in the US where it
grossed $9.5 million and more than $20 million in the rest of the world.
Following its
worldwide success in 2011 Once was
adapted for the stage as a musical.
After opening off Broadway it subsequently transferred to Broadway where
it won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and
Best Actor in a Musical. In 2013 a
production of the show opened in London and is scheduled to run until 2015.
Here is the trailer:
And here's the amazing song:
