IMDb RATING
7.8/10
123K
YOUR RATING
A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 24 wins & 31 nominations total
Markéta Irglová
- Girl
- (as Marketa Irglova)
Gerard Hendrick
- Lead Guitarist
- (as Gerry Hendrick)
Sean Miller
- Bank Manager
- (as Sean Millar)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured review
This is a wonderful, fun and touching movie. At a screening at Sundance 2007 the director described it as a musical, and it really is. The primary actors are musicians and their songs tie the movie together and tie you to them. Although the primary cast aren't actors as a first profession, they are very natural together and the film flows very well because of it. Everyone involved in this film has a great passion for music, and it is very infectious. It is one of the few films I have seen in 7 years at Sundance that received a standing ovation.
From the Sundance film guide: "A Dublin busker, who ekes out a living playing guitar and repairing vacuum cleaners for his dad's shop, meets a young Czech immigrant who sells roses on the same street. She likes his song, and what's more she has a broken vacuum cleaner! They soon find themselves playing music together in a nearby music store (since she can't afford a piano, the owner lets her play his floor models). Over the course of a week, they form a musical rapport and, newly inspired, decide to record an album.
Once may loosely be classified as a musical, but it has a refreshing vérité inflection. Conceived by director John Carney as a "video album," it sports a scrappy, unembellished naturalism. Carney took a risk in choosing professional musicians over professional actors, but Glen Hansard (of the well-known Irish band the Frames) and Marketa Irglova (a Czech singer/songwriter) are not only remarkably charming together but they're equally adept with the more melancholy shades (Hansard's lonely soul, stuck on an old flame; Irglova struggling to support a mother and daughter). Burdened and brokenhearted, their musical bond is the heart of the film and of their love.
Great music aside, what makes this film special is how little effort it seems to exert. If it's possible to be blindsided by simplicity--a light touch, Once does it." John Nein
From the Sundance film guide: "A Dublin busker, who ekes out a living playing guitar and repairing vacuum cleaners for his dad's shop, meets a young Czech immigrant who sells roses on the same street. She likes his song, and what's more she has a broken vacuum cleaner! They soon find themselves playing music together in a nearby music store (since she can't afford a piano, the owner lets her play his floor models). Over the course of a week, they form a musical rapport and, newly inspired, decide to record an album.
Once may loosely be classified as a musical, but it has a refreshing vérité inflection. Conceived by director John Carney as a "video album," it sports a scrappy, unembellished naturalism. Carney took a risk in choosing professional musicians over professional actors, but Glen Hansard (of the well-known Irish band the Frames) and Marketa Irglova (a Czech singer/songwriter) are not only remarkably charming together but they're equally adept with the more melancholy shades (Hansard's lonely soul, stuck on an old flame; Irglova struggling to support a mother and daughter). Burdened and brokenhearted, their musical bond is the heart of the film and of their love.
Great music aside, what makes this film special is how little effort it seems to exert. If it's possible to be blindsided by simplicity--a light touch, Once does it." John Nein
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBob Dylan was such a big fan of the film that he arranged to have the two leads, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, open for him on part of his world tour. Hansard and Irglová also covered Dylan's song "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" for the film I'm Not There (2007).
- GoofsDuring the montage towards the end of the film, when the Girl is playing her new piano, the Girl's mother is cooking and stirring something on the stove-top. However, if you look closely, there is nothing in the pan. The mother is stirring the air with a spatula to appear as if she's cooking something.
- Alternate versionsFilm prints have a few things at the beginning and end missing from the Fox DVD. After the Fox Searchlight logo and before the text-only company credits, the prints have a short silent logo for Summit Entertainment and then one for the Irish film board. At the end of the movie, once the credits crawl finishes, prints also have a short Fox Searchlight text-only card (containing the text "in association with" with no followup), a short card with a gigantic MPAA logo and number, and the blue R-rating screen.
- SoundtracksAnd the Healing Has Begun
Written by Van Morrison
Performed by Glen Hansard
Published by Universal Music Publishing
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Một Lần Như Thế
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $150,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,439,923
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $61,901
- May 20, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $22,312,089
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