A talented busker and immigrant woman strike up a friendship through their mutual love of making music, and set out to record an album of the mans songs.
That pretty much covers it really.
Tonally this could really be compared to Lost in Translation. Instead of two people who can’t really be together but you kind of wish would being brought together by being in a strange culture they’re brought together by music. And there’s a very important line that you can’t understand, or in LiT’s case here. Unless you speak Check.
If you don’t and you’ve seen this go and look at the IMDB trivia, it’ll make you smile.
I went to see a play a few years ago called The Sundowe. It was by a bunch of buskers from Edinburgh called The Martians, and it was a supernatural crazy farce based around their music. The Martians are fucking AWESOME and the play was great. Do a hunt for them. Actually fuck that, he’s a link to one of their videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRS-ut97hRw&feature=related
Plenty other videos on the right there. I’m not sure what’s happening with them, but I wished I had the money to make a movie version of the play. And for a review I wrote back then they still owe me a pint!
The film looks exactly like pretty much everything I’ve ever had a chance to be involved with in my life, so don’t expect super HD shiny quality. It’s 10 years ago TV quality. Gritty, fairly hand held, nothing overly flashy. When you have a good story, good acting and a fun script it doesn’t matter.
So here it doesn’t matter.
Much of the film is music, it is a musical after all, but not in the Jets vs Sharks way. It’s all organic and works with the story.
The fact is, not to downplay Glen Hansard and Maketa Irglovia’s talent, there are THOUSANDS of people like these guys out there. Hell I’ve named 2 groups in this review and could probably name more if I tried. Our charts and radios shouldn’t be blasting out cookie cutter shite that sounds exactly the same as last weeks shite. Do yourself a favour and go and see someone local. Or stop and listen to the odd good busker. They’d appreciate the money more anyway.
oh and watch Once, because its fucking brilliant
Next up: The Iron Giant
1 comment:
What I love about Once is that was an ordinary story, about ordinary people. They don't win the lotto, and the apocalypse or aliens don't figure in it.
In short, I related strongly to the characters, and I think most people could.
As you noted, the music happens naturally. There's only one point in the movie where a character bursts into song (the busker, on the bus), and he gets stares for it. The music conveys what they feel, but can't say otherwise.
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