I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
I jumped at the chance to see Dublin-set Once, hoping that it would paint a pretty picture of the Irish city that I felt had disenchanted me as a visitor. The critics' reviews were glowing; even Mr. Spielberg had an endorsement on the poster. Alas, much like my travels, I was somewhat underwhelmed.
The film turns out to be a sweet rendition of unrequited love. In fact, it's more innocent than that. It's about two kindred spirits who find solace in each other before they part as quickly as they met. It's unique in the respect that there is no sex or snogging, just genuine friendship and appreciation of each other's talents. So far, so good.
Sadly, this great idea is squandered by a visual style that looks like the film was made for a tenner that the director found under his bar stool. If you don't have much money then a good story will usually suffice, but the digital camerawork in this thing is uniformly shoddy. The camera wobbles all over the place and the sets aren't lit properly. A crane shot sticks out like a sore thumb - they must have forked out for that one. If this was the style they were going for, it looks bad.
The music isn't to everyone's taste either. If I had my way, singer-songwriters, troubadours, and minstrels would join together and remove themselves to the far side of the galaxy. Just like those Spanish prats at youth hostels who bring their out-of-tune guitars down to the lobby and irritate everyone else with their renditions of sensitive love songs. It's a bit painful.
Luckily, lead Glen Hansard has a likeable screen presence, and he carries the film with his Oirish charms. It certainly breaks your heart to meet these two great friends who share the same passions but will never take things further. Once is one for the romantics. It's scruffy but sweet. And... kind of underwhelming.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
I quite liked it, my wife thought it was boring. Not high on impact, glad we found a wet day to go.
Unassuming great little movie that had me reading the credits to see who these people were.
I had no idea what to expect as i had not seen any reviews.....but by gosh it was everything and more. Fantastic movie, breathtaking music...a raw honest energy that you don't often find in a movie these days. Got to find the sound track!
This movie is a must see. The characters are so real, the story unfolds with rich emotion and you literally feel like you know these people - the next day you want to sing their songs.
My wife liked this movie. I found it boring, but I was bored and tired of staring at the back of the seat in front. Therefore I'm rating it generously because I must allow for the smallness of the 'in-flight theatre' screen. As I remember, this is a story about a musician wannabe and a girl who becomes interested, for whatever reason; one of those stories that seems to be going nowhere but you stay with it to see what will unfold, and unsurprisingly, doesn't quite get there.
Think movie musicals, think stagey sets, glittery costumes, impromptu warbling and total fakeness, right? Not if you consider Once; an unassuming Irish indie that, for all its lack of gloss, outstrips its high budget American counterparts with sheer charm and sensitivity.
1/2 This is the sort of movie that could renew your faith in the medium... a gorgeous little movie. Go see it...
The year’s most pleasant cinematic surprise. Once has enough heart, wit, verve and sheer songwriting genius to ensure you’ll see it far more times than its title suggests...
I'm scared to say how good it is for fear of overselling it; it's such a tiny, fragile thing and, on paper, sounds so improbable. But the unaffected charm of its two main characters, neither of whom is named, gets utterly under your skin...
This is the musical film for the people who hate musicals, but love music and film. Go see this utterly charming film...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 6th Dec 2007.
Release date: December 6th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
