By definition, a film that can loosely be described as a “romantic musical” should send shivers down my spine, conjuring images of outdated dance steps, and clichéd interpersonal emotional discovery. But “Once” is that rare jewel of a film, one that not only dares to reinvent a genre but does so using novice actors and music that, out of this context, probably wouldn’t seem so broadly appealing. “Once” is an instant classic, transforming the simple story of a scruffy street singer and beautiful Czech immigrant into a kind of kindred musical and spiritual collaboration whose narrative is told largely through lyrics and whose tone is set by Hansard’s guitar and Irglova’s piano. Watching this film made me somewhat envious of kind of language and relationship that music can foster between people, especially between a man and woman who learn to love through an unspoken musical chemistry, a kind of romantic groove.

As a decade old die-hard fan of Ireland’s greatest modern band, The Frames, is sent warm wonderful chills up my spine to see Frames leader and “Once” star Hansard finally have a chance to propel himself and his band into a limelight so long in coming. If there is any justice in this world, Hansard and Irglova, will be nominated for an Academy award and will win, vaulting The Frames into a much deserved wider audience, much like Elliott Smith did with “Good Will Hunting,” and “Once” will become 2007’s little indie that could, accumulating awards and more visible place in the history of independent film.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 1:14 am and is filed under movies + dvds, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.