Once

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Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5051429101279 Format: PAL Label: Icon Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Icon Home Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Icon Home Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-02-25 Studio: Icon Home Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Accessories Once: Music From The Motion Picture
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Editorial Reviews: Winner of the World Audience Award at Sundance, Once starts out as a small-scale romance, like Before Sunrise, before arriving somewhere unexpected. An Irish busker (Glen Hansard, the Frames and The Commitments) meets a Czech flower seller (Markéta Irglová) while singing on the streets of Dublin. (In the credits, they're listed as Guy and Girl.) She likes what she hears and lets him know. Turns out she's a musician, too. They work on a few songs together and a friendship is forged. She lives with her widowed mother, who doesn't speak English. He lives with his widowed father, who owns a repair shop. Since he broke up with his girlfriend, the guy has been drifting, unable and unwilling to get his life in order. The girl encourages him to pursue a record deal, and the guy emerges from his funk. Then he makes a move on the girl, who rejects his advances. He's confused, but as he comes to find, there's a reason she’s keeping her distance. Though Once is filled with appealing folk-pop by Hansard and Irglová (released on CD as The Swell Season), the movie isn't a traditional musical, but rather a more optimistic Brief Encounter. Filmmaker John Carney, Hansard's former bandmate, captures the real city--in all its affluence and poverty--rather than the picture postcard version. His beautifully shot film serves as a heartfelt ballad about all the underclass Guys and Girls swept aside amidst Ireland's economic miracle. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Great film, marred by smelly guff Comment: Saw this movie in Clapham, just before the film started my partner farted and everyone looked at me. It was really pongy, unlike the film which has the aroma of roses. Customer Rating: Summary: watch more than once! Comment: I heard this film was good and knowing nothing about the story line, watched it with the sound down low. I was very disappointed; one of those films that you say to yourself "I don't get it", or "Nothing really happened". Frankly it was terrible. But then I caugh myself humming one or two of the songs, and decided to play the movie again with the volumn turned up. My opinion changed completly. The songs are brilliant, tons of emotion, and the interactions between the lead two actors was touching. It's all about what they don't say, or how they say the few words they do say. No over the top acting, just A romantic musical to watch (& more importantly listen to) again & again! Customer Rating: Summary: don't expect car chases Comment: A gentle, unassuming, moving and simple story well told. Low key production suits the intimacy of the tale and it was only afterwards that I realised how much had been moved along by the songs rather than them being used as interludes. And it's now become my partner's favourite film Customer Rating: Summary: I have fast forward finger Comment: This film was really the most unbearable nonsense, the Irish busker/hoover repair man was perhaps the most annoying person ever. The music was awful, he must have been listening to an awful lot of Damien Rice. Customer Rating: Summary: Don't believe the hype Comment: My girlfriend and I were really looking forward to watching this but were both shocked at just how disappointing it really is. First off I liked the music, it's good singer songwriter fair but forgettable. If you like Irish singers there are plenty other better ones out there. It's terribly shot, as a film maker myself it is just unforgivable to make a film this poorly, shooting on the worst camera badly. For me though this comes second to the total lack of narrative, very poor acting and a total unsatisfying ending. There was no film here to watch just lots of badly shot musical sequences. It's not a musical because it isn't about anything. It's a poor idea badly executed. Watch Live at Abbey Road and see David Gray instead. Please don't waste your money on this overrated tripe. More Reviews