Week 8- 1/26-1/30

'Once' And Again: A Love Story Gets A Second Life

Lunden, J. (2011, December 6). 'Once' And Again: A Love Story Gets A Second Life. Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/2011/12/06/143147174/once-and-again-a-love-story-gets-a-second-life

Summary:

In the film Once, the story is centered around an unnamed guy and girl whose love and passion for music brings them together. This Irish indie film was created on a low budget, and made in three weeks in Dublin. The majority of the music for the film was written and recorded by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who also starred in the movie. Recently this small indie film has been transformed into a Broadway musical that just ended its time on Broadway this month. The musical was a great hit that brought much more attention to the movie. 

Quotes:

"We made this film two years ago, we shot on two handi-cams, it took us three weeks to make, we made it for a hundred grand," said a clearly stunned Hansard at the Oscar ceremony.

"In the film, it's more about two people who meet, they fall in love, and they have this thing for a week. In our show, it's about a guy who's broken — really broken — and a girl who's broken, and [they] find a way to heal themselves through each other."

"There's something about Once that makes an audience feel as if they've eavesdropped on a series of intimate, emotionally touching moments."

Reflection: 

This film is a raw love story about two people's passion for music and each other. However, this film wouldn't have been nearly as successful as it was if it weren't for the amazing music sung in the film. The hit song from the film 'Falling Slowly' actually won an Academy Award. The fact that the film was shot on such a low budget shows that it's not necessarily about the A-list actors, or elaborate plot lines that make a movie successful but instead it's about telling a beautiful story. I think that the music is what made this film because although this film is technically a musical it doesn't feel like one. The music is so raw and has an acoustic sound and folk aspects to it, which creates this intimate relationship between the viewer and the characters. The acoustic guitar and piano playing also add to the romance between the two characters. The video below is a scene from Once, where girl and guy play together for the first time. The story is essentially about music and told through music, and the beautiful lyrics and voices of Hansard and Irglova create a memorable film. The fact that it was made into a Broadway musical shows the impact of this film. Although the directors and writers of the musical had to embellish the plot and add more characters it still stayed true to the film. The musical used the same story and the same songs, and it did incredibly successful winning 8 Tony Awards and creating more viewers for the actual film.  

      

            'Falling Slowly' from the film Once

    

'Gold' from Once the Musical