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Once [2007] | ![Once [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xov2%2BumNL._SL75_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: John Carney
Actors: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglova, Hugh Walsh, Gerard Hendrick, Alaistair Foley
Studio: Icon Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £8.48
You Save: £11.51 (58%)
New (10) Used (1) from £8.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 140
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Czech (Original Language), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 84
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5051429101279
ASIN: B000ZK9SQM
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: February 25, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
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 Irglova) 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 Irglova (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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 Brilliant July 2, 2008
I really like this film. It's refreshingly different and so is the ending. Much more real life with people with real problems. I'd recommend it.
A Small Film With A Big Heart June 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Oh what a little gem this film is. SO simple in its storyline and execution, but yet it manages to pluck at the heart strings on so many levels. DO NOT be put off by the word 'Musical' - I hate them and despite this film describing itself as just that, it never feels this way. The songs are mighty and the inspired direction, and the 'virginal' acting debuts on the part of the two leads, give the whole thing a freshness and a heartwarming reality that will charm all but those who sadly were born with their hearts in neutral. Watch it and like me you might feel moved to sit down and write a review and then buy the soundtrack, right there and then. After that you might consider checking out the music of The Frames too (Glenn Hansard's original musical vehicle). So sorry if it turns out you don't like it even after all that has been said here and before - you really are missing out.
 What a load of old blarney June 22, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not sure what I expected from this film but whatever it was I didn't get it. It started out well, in retrospect the best acting in the entire film can be seen in the first scene. I knew it was a musical - hence lots of music and I liked the music! the music was fine, it was just the rest of it.
The storyline was flimsy at best, the lead character was weak and I found it difficult to comprehend that an ENTIRE film had been made around the plot of girlfriend sleeps with other man, betrayed man then writes lots of songs about hurt, pain etc etc.
Man didn't appear to be in terrible emotional angst about this in fact if czech girl hadn't pointed out how much he must be hurting I think he may have been blissfully unaware.
I'd had a couple of whiskys and it was raining, overcast and dark my concept of time was a bit off I didn't know duration of the film until this morning, when I discovered it was only 84 minutes long - trust me it felt far longer.
Magical Bequiling Wonder June 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Once, once
Knew how to talk to you
Once, once
But not anymore" Glen Hansard
The stars of this delightful film are 'Boy' and 'Girl'. 'Boy', Glen Hansard is a music maker who sings on the streets of Dublin at night for money and recognition. By day, Boy fixes vacuum cleaners in his dad's shop. 'Girl'is Margeta Irglova, a Czech pianist who cleans homes and sells flowers for a living, She, too, is songwriter but rarely has time. She has a small young girl and mother to care for. She has left her husband and is tyring to make a new life. Boy has lost the love of his life, she has moved to London. These two people find each other as lovers of music and start singing together. They form a friendship. They spend a great deal of time together and beside friendship they form a bittersweet love story. She entices him to leave his day job with dad and find the money to start a musical career. Their songs are about heartbreak. As AO Scott says," "Once" is far from a conventional love story. It is, instead, the story of a creative partnership that develops by chance and that involves a deeper, riskier bond than mere sex ever could." This is a film to see more than once. It is a lively story of making a demo tape. What, you say, is that all there is? Ahh, yes and more. We are left with a sad-happy feeling from this film. The songs make a marvelously delicious soundtrack and will resound in your memories.
"That's it, a bittersweet love story with ravishing Hansard music ("Falling Slowly" is a killer) and the ache of romance in its soul. Nothing about this mood piece should work -- the budget is shoestring and the actors are inexperienced. But Once brims with small pleasures that pay major dividends." Peter Travers
'Once' has an easy lovable charm that grows on us as we view this film.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 05-24-08
The Swell Season
Once
Not quite what i expected. June 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well where do i begin? This was a complete waste of time, and a complete waste of time. I generally look forward to spending some time on the sofa on a weekend watching a film and this completley ruined it! I enjoyed the songs that was fine in fact the songs in the film were lovely if not a bit Damien Rice obsessed. But the main character played by Glen Hansell was completley non engaging and you couldn't care whether he got to 'London' with his music or if he joined a gypsy choir and got addicted to heroin. God it felt like a long film, a music video that went too far. Sorry it was rubbish.
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