Another clue comes early in the film as the two lead characters (known only as “Guy” and “Girl” in the credits) first play music together. The young Czechoslovakian immigrant (Markéta Iglová) meets the street musician/vacuum cleaner repairman (Glen Hansard) on the streets of Dublin as he is playing. They meet again the next day and wind up in a music store where Guy learns the feisty Girl can play the piano. What follows is one of the most beautiful scenes in recent memory as Hansard and Iglová sing Falling Slowly. It is amazing how much is communicated during this scene though no conversation takes place. One critic has described this song as the film’s “kiss scene.”
It is this scene, and others that are equally evocative, that make Once so difficult to describe succinctly. Though director John Carney uses song to aid his storytelling, he certainly didn’t seem to have a traditional musical in mind when he invited his old band mate to play the lead. In fact, the original plan was for Hansard and Iglová to sing and play and have “real” actors lip-synch the songs. The change of plan that allowed the musicians to play themselves was the right, though risky, decision.
A final clue to Once came a few months ago when the film screened at Sundance. In addition to talking about the film and taking questions as most directors and actors at the festival do, Carney (Hansard’s old bass player in The Frames), Hansard, and Iglová played and sang the songs from the film. Perhaps it’s this authenticity that sets Once apart from the usual summer blockbuster fare. There is something beautifully simple and real about the story, the songs, and the musicians who are much more than actors interpreting a story.
Hansard and Irglova are currently touring as the "Swell Season." A live concert recording can be heard at NPR's All Songs Considered .
