Once

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

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: