Sunday, August 19, 2007

Once



Once is a charming backstage musical of the indie kind.

The story is ultra-bare. Basically two musicians meet-cute and dance around their attraction for each other as they talk about past loves while making beautiful music together. The film is really short (less than 90 minutes), probably because it could tell its story in a short amount of time well.

I was talking to my brothers on the way home from the movie about how the characters had so much subtext in their conversations and interactions. But there is still so much mystery to what their intentions are. Are they falling in love. I thought so. But I didn't know. That's key. I knew very little about the characters, probably because the characters don't know that much about each other or their intentions. I did want to get to know them better. I sort of wanted to spend more time with them. I liked them enough to feel that way. I wanted them to get together.

I was disappointed in the direction their lives took, but I was thankful for the time I spent with them and the genuine moments I spent with them and their music. I was thankful that somehow I was satisfied by the wonderful ending although it was different from the way I expected it to end. I was thankful people get to make deeply personal films like this and show them to me in small theaters with other thankful audience members. It's a bittersweet story about two people figuring their lives and each other out.

I will say that I wasn't totally convinced by the acting. The characters and performers are charming, but there is some noticeable hints of these musicians learning to act.

****

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