Here's the official website for the film.
Again, like "Into The Wild", I fall in love with Once's soundtrack, "Falling Slowly", prior to watching the film. Couple months later, when I heard "Guaranteed" was not nominated for Best Original Song, I was surprised learning that this was the only time when a song won in Golden Globe was not nominated in Academy and "Falling Slowly" was nominated and won the award that night. Right after that, I straight away consulted "Rottentomatoes" about "Once" and figured out that it gained 97% Fresh Rottentomatoes on Tomatometer, which is very not rare for such indie film.
'Once' has topped my favorite films of all time. It is one of those films that doesn't need powerful compelling plots to received stand-up critics . The idea of keeping it small gives me perfect guidance to tell stories from the most creative, yet truthful, perspective. Neither Hansard nor Irglova is a well-trained actor, but both of them show the charisma essentials in the art of acting.
Some critics labeled 'Once' as a musical film. Stagey set, glittery costumes, impromptu warbling and absolute fakeness, are the stuff to expect when you want to see musical films, like 'Dreamgirls', 'Chicago', 'Moulin Rouge', 'Enchanted' etc. But, 'Once' gives you a new perspective of making a musical films along with less budget.
When you see a musical film, have you ever felt that some songs come out in inappropriate parts? I have, and ALWAYS being annoyed by that. However, songs in 'Once' are rendered beautifully at the most relevant part in the film that you can think of.
Here's the tracklist for the film:
1. Falling Slowly
2. If You Want Me
3. Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy
4. When Your Minds Made Up
5. Lies
6. Gold
7. The Hill
8. Fallen Form The Sky
9. Leave
10. Trying to Pull Myself Away
11. All the Way Down
12. Once
13. Say It to Me Now
'Say it to me now' is my favorite!
'Once' is a wistful modern romance that incorporates organic and beautiful music together with honest performance by the actors.