In Continuum.

I'm not a big musical person, Moulin Rouge failed to fascinate me with its dramatics and its theatrics, and the songs weren't exactly appealing either. Seriously, Come What May was probably one of the most over-rated songs in that year alone, with the cheesy line "I will love you until my dying day". How bone chilling can that line get, when in the back of heads we all know that words like that were probably said for the sake of saying them. Besides, the appearance of Kylie Minogue as that fluttering green fly thing really wasn't something I liked to see, which was why I never actually finished the movie. A similar movie was Chicago, and that movie was just a less than average cousin of the actual Broadway musical which I saw when the cast came down to Singapore a few years ago. The film wasn't anything fantastic to be honest, though the musical numbers were clearly more towards my liking. It won Best Picture at the Oscars that year, and to win over other films like The Pianist and The Hours was clearly outrageous. When it comes to musicals, I am usually lukewarm about them to be honest, which is probably why I am having doubts about Across the Universe and I'm Not There. But Once, Once is definitely the reason why I would have faith in musicals all over again.

Strictly speaking, Once is more like a film with a bunch of music than a musical truth to be told. It tells the story of a guy - whose name is never mentioned throughout the film - and a girl - whose name was also never mentioned throughout the film - meeting on the streets one day out of coincidence. The guy is a busker on his guitar, the girl is a talented pianist who has had her own share of experiences on life at a very young age. The guy is trying to get over his old love while working in his father's shop fixing vacuum cleaners all day, and the girl is trying to raise the child whose father ran away from the responsibilities. He lost faith in the old relationship, while the girl still has that little light of hope for her husband to come back, and at the same time they are attracted to one another because of this mutual respect for each others' talents on their various musical instruments. So as the guy tries to record a demo tape before his trip to London, he spends a few days with the girl and they formed a band - and a bond - together.

With a 98% approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com, you shouldn't expect anything less than utter brilliance from this movie. The songs are being weaved so seamlessly into the story line, and you don't feel like the director tried too hard to fit them in at all. That is unusual, since musicals usually try to over-emphasize on things a little, people singing in the middle of the streets and dancing about like clowns. They overdo some things in traditional musicals, but that is certainly not the case here. The songs are being introduced in the most subtle and natural manner possible, and with the minimal amount of spoken dialog used in this film, most of the plot are being translated through the lyrics of the songs - which not only serves as a beautiful backing to the movie itself, but also a gorgeous soundtrack. This soundtrack is probably one of the best soundtracks I have heard in a long time. It is powerful, yet it is fragile at the very same time. The voice of Marketa Irglova is vulnerable, but like her character there is that hint of hope somewhere between her change of breaths. Glen Hansard contributes to the male side of the music, and he too presents his song lyrics in the purest and most raw form. He reminds me of Damien Rice, who coincidentally is also from Ireland. The same kind of hair, the same kind of guitar, and they even have the same style - well, almost.

The cinematography further elevates the realism of the film. By using the kind of handheld method employed by many directors these days, it is possible for you to be transported into a certain scene, to feel as if you are there with the actors. The story itself is simple and real, which makes the story very believable in contrast to the conventional kind of musicals we have seen throughout the years. They are too fabricated, perhaps too artificial to be honest. Once gives you the kind of love story that could happen to you or your neighbor, a friend of yours or a busker around the corner from your place. It is close to heart, and the two main characters truly brought out that kind of vulnerable emotions in the story. Both of them realizes the impossibility of their relationship because of their own commitments and responsibilities. It's a bittersweet situation, the kind of story line you wouldn't want to see in a romantic movie. But at the same time you start to understand the reason why they made certain decisions, and the moment you go," Well, I would have made the same decision", then you have been drawn into the film almost completely.

I don't suppose it is possible to review this film without reviewing the songs. Very much like the way Damien Rice chose to express his lyrics, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova employed similar minimalist styles to their music. Using mostly only a piano and a guitar, they are capable of weaving the most beautiful melodies through their song lyrics. Falling Slowly is definitely my favorite track throughout the movie, and certainly a song you will be humming on your way home. Other tracks like If You Want Me, Lies, The Hill and When Your Mind's Made Up truly brings forth even more depth to the story, and you hear the kind of hurt and depression involved when the singers wrote those songs. That is not to mention the humorous summary of his love life through the song Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy, really great touch there. They fit almost perfectly into the story itself, and I don't suppose things would have been any better for both the soundtrack and the film. Everything was just calibrated to just the right level, nothing seemed pretentious in the movie at all - which tends to be the case for some independent movies. This film is what a perfect film should be like, and the realization was probably the reason why I had a smile on my face when the credits started to roll.

I am glad that I have finally managed to catch this movie, and it has certainly been a great musical and cinematic experience for me. This film is going to be hard to top when it comes to the genre of a musical, I don't see a lot of films being better than this anytime soon. There is just this timelessness to this movie and the songs presented, and that realism is something you cannot deny. Despite the somewhat bitter ending, I had the same emotions at the end of this film as the ones I had at the end of Before Sunrise. Things did not turn out as you would hope it to have turned out, but at the same time you realize that things wouldn't have turned out in any other manner. It's just a beautiful, beautiful film, and highly recommended to anybody who enjoys this genre of music and a good movie on a Sunday afternoon.