It's easy to see why John Carney's Once became the darling of audiences and critics alike at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Compared to Park City's usual line-up of angst-ridden melodramas, star-powered "indies" and would-be provocative stunts (Hounddog anyone?), this sweet, simple Irish musical must have seemed like a work of sheer genius. Viewed at a lower altitude though, the film's flaws—which include a distinct second-act lull and a too-tidy finale—become more apparent. But all of those distractions vanish from your mind whenever the two stars, real-life musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, raise their voices in song. The film's considerable charms are perfectly encapsulated in an early scene in a music shop, where Hansard strums one of his self-penned folk-rock numbers on his beaten-up guitar while Irglová tentatively fills out the melody on a piano. (FYI: This transcendent tune, entitled "Falling Slowly," is the first track on the Once soundtrack album—prepare to wear out your iPod listening to it over and over and over again.) As they make their way through the song, their playing grows more and more confident until, by the final chorus, it sounds like they've been performing together forever. It's one of those perfect movie moments that quickens your pulse and puts a goofy grin on your face.
Filmed on the streets of Dublin (sans shooting permits) on a ridiculously short production schedule, Once tells the story of Guy (Hansard) and Girl (Irglová), a street musician/vacuum-cleaner repairman and Czech cleaning lady respectively who encounter each other late one evening when she stops to listen to him play. Over the course of the next few days, they meet, talk, take long walks, play music and, eventually, record a demo album. For Guy, who is nursing a recently broken heart, their friendship seems like a prelude to a great romance. Girl, however, isn't as starry-eyed about this new person in her life. For one thing, she has a young daughter whose father isn't entirely out of the picture. Beyond that, she can see that the last thing Guy needs is to leap into another love affair. By helping him record his demo, she nudges him off the street and towards fulfilling his dream of a professional recording career.
READ MORE: Critic's Choice: Best of 2007
