[MOVIE] Once

[Emperor]

Yes, it is night time.  For those of you that don't know me... well... I post during the day and rarely at night or over the weekend.  But I am making an exception today.  I just netflixed a movie based on some top ten lists I have seen over the past few weeks.  If you are like me... you are wondering what this movie Once is all about.  Hell I didn't really know until I got the netflix and read the description to Yveva. 

 

So what is about?  It is a simple love story of boy meets girl... well.. literally.  We never learn the people's name and the credits are really girl and guy. The Frames frontman Glen Hansard stars as a Dublin songwriter who takes his guitar to the streets and sings himself hoarse to deaf ears. That is, until he meets a pretty Czech pianist (Marketa Irglova) who gives him the guts to quit his dad's repair shop and start finding the bucks to make a recording.

 

You can tell the movie was made on a low budget, the camera work is a little shoddy and the actors are a little inexperienced.  Those would be the only two small things that don't take anything away from this movie.  It felt like you were almost watching a documentary or peeking into the life of close friends.  The music that they make together winds through the movie and you instantly fall in love with it.  I have already downloaded it for my ipod and am making a CD for Yveva.  Truly this movie was a gem that I feel truly lucky to have found. 

 

I strongly suggest this for people that want to watch a great movie that isn't all Hollywooded up.  I am trying to figure out where to put this in my top ten of 2007.

[Majsju]

You may want to keep it out of your 2007 lists altogether, since it was released in 2006...

[Emperor]

You would be right if you were talking about its released in film festivals.  It was widely released in Ireland in March and limited released in the US in May of 2007. 

[Shendare]

Unless, that is, Maj counts the release date as the date the movie appears on BitTorrent. *g*

[Majsju]

BitTorrent? Tsk tsk, too slow. ;D

[Mendorah]

A coworker of mine saw this a couple of weeks ago and has just Raved about it.  I need to rent it. 

 

"Falling Slowly" from this movie has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Song.

[Emperor]

Mendorah you will like it. 

 

I was very excited to see it nominated and really think it deserves a win.  I will point out the song wasn't originally from the movie but was on one of his records when he played for The Frames.  But it really works in the movie.

[Emperor]

The Trailer...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mIpwx5lA5I

[Guest silver89]

Looks good. Going on my must see NOW list.*nods*

[Emperor]

And because I am hyping this movie (watched it again last night with some friends), here is a news article that is going to piss me off if they rule against today.  I will post the outcome once I know it.

 

The best musical of 2007 wasn’t Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, or even Enchanted. It was a little movie called Once, which almost none of you saw because it was only in two theaters for about two minutes. It’s a heart-breakingly hypnotic film, a musical that’s actually about music, and not about choreographed line-dancing, of which there is none. It also contains a beautiful little tune called “Falling Slowly” which ought to be a shoe-in as the Academy Awards’ selection for Best Original Song. The Academy has no excuse, since they all received copies of it on screeners and have therefore all been exposed to its greatness.

 

One problem though. “Falling Slowly” may not even be an option for Oscar voters. The Carpetbagger blog over at the New York Times reports that the tune may be about to join a growing list of great music which the Academy is disqualifying from contention. Already on that list is all of the amazing Eddie Vedder music from Into The Wild, and now the music from Once may be about to get the axe.

 

It’s not entirely clear at this point why “Falling Slowly” may be disqualified, but there’s speculation that the songs in the movie weren’t originally written for this movie, or that they may have been written for another movie which was never made. In some weird way this could disqualify it from original song. If you’ve seen the movie though, that makes sense. Once feels as if it is a movie written to explain a soundtrack, as if the music always existed, and the film is about how two people come together, intertwine with one another, and create that beautiful music together. It’s as if the film is an explanation of the music it contains, and that’s a big part of what makes it so entrancing and utterly unique. If that’s really why they’re disqualifying it… well that sucks. The Academy either needs another category for music like this, or Once needs an exception.

 

Even if you haven’t see Once yet, start up your iTunes and purchase the soundtrack. Blind buy it, you won't regret it. Digging up this story reminded me of just how much I wanted it, and so "Falling Slowly" is wafting gently out of my speakers right now. It gets better every time I hear it.

 

coughilistentothesoundtrackeverydaycough

 

 

[Cadsuane]

I've added this to my Netflix. I'll look into getting the soundtrack too, but I'm not much of a purchaser of music. I mostly stick to the radio and the years-old mp3s I stole in college. ^_^

[SinisterDeath]

Different versions of a few songs were previously released on The Frames' album The Cost and on Hansard and Irglová's The Swell Season (both released in 2006). As a result, some have raised questions about "Falling Slowly"'s eligibility for the best original song Oscar, though Hansard maintains it was written for the movie. An early version of the last track, "Say It to Me Now," originally appeared on The Frames' 1995 album Fitzcarraldo. "All the Way Down" first appeared on the self-titled album from musician collective The Cake Sale, with Gemma Hayes providing vocals. The song "Gold" was written by Irish singer-songwriter Fergus O'Farrell and performed by Interference.

 

At least, Thats what Wiki had to say about it...

[SinisterDeath]

Okay, I saw this movie today, (After Hot Rod :P).

It was one of about 20 on my list, that I got.

Now, I'm not one for a sappy 'lovey duvvy emotional movie' But one thing that I was impressed about it, was the way they did the music. Not only that, but it actually seemed like the actors/singers put there hearts & souls into the said music.

Combine that, with the fact, that these weren't american idols pop star BS people, out to get rich. The guy was writing songs, making music because he enjoyed doing it. He was singing out doors, with his guitar case open for donations. I doubt he was at it to get rich, If anything he wanted his music to be heard. Which in my mind, is 500x better then whats going on in the 'music' industry today. So in that idea, I think they pulled it off far better then hollywood ever could have, since they just love to play the 'you can become rich to!' theme.

 

*Btw, some of the oldie musicians, rock stars, started out in a similar way, they didn't do it to just get 'rich', if anything that was a 'side benifit' after nearly starving todeath playing in clubs. But of course not all of them maintained that out look. /cough metalica /cough* :P

[Emperor]

The song 'Falling Slowly' from the Irish film 'Once' has been passed for inclusion on the Oscars nominations list, according to a report in today's New York Times.

 

The song - penned by The Frames frontman Glen Hansard and 'Once' co-star Marketa Irglova - had been uncertain of entry after questions were raised over whether it had been written specifically for the film.

 

Now, members of the executive committee of the music branch of the Academy have decided that the song was in fact eligible and would be on ballots to be sent out tomorrow morning.

 

YES! 

 

Glad you liked it Sinister.  Did you have a desire to get the soundtrack right after watching the movie? 

[SinisterDeath]

No not really, I don't own 'any' music, either legally, or illegally.

[Silver]

Oh wow, just watched this and it's amazing. The music is so beautiful.

[Emperor]

Nice!  I am trying to get as many people to watch it as possible.  I am glad you liked it.

[Paityr]

I'm really glad you all love this movie. It's probably number 2 on my top ten for 2007 (behind Into the Wild).

 

And while I agree that "Falling Slowly" is an amazing song that was sung beautifully in the movie (didn't you love the look on Glen's face when Marketa started singing harmony during the refrain? ;D ), I'm disappointed that "When Your Mind's Made Up" didn't get nominated, too. To me, the scene where they played that song in the studio sent chills down my spine. The way they started the scene, with the sound guy starting off all blase' about having to spend his weekend helping some "hacks" off the street record an album, then slowly, as the song progresses, you watch as his smile gets bigger and bigger. The emotion they put into this song was unbelievable. Here's a clip of the scene I'm talking about:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUS2ieIO5os

 

Anyway, I loved this movie.

[Emperor]

When they were debating the validity of Falling Slowly for the Oscar nod... I was thinking... well then what about this song... or this song.  You can pick almost anyone from the movie and have it nominated. 

 

I have been spreadin the word and so far about 10 other people have watched it on my recommendation. 

 

Pait it was #2 on my list as well.

[SinisterDeath]

When I was talking earlier about the song that sounded like he put his entire heart into it, it was that 'when your mind's made up', which was an awesome song in that movie. I loved that scene with the sound recorder guy.