Why 'Once' Is My Favorite Movie of All Time

Once upon a time, I rented a movie. It took me a while to get around to renting said movie, and after hearing the trailer multiple times at my place of work, I finally rented it, becoming one of five people to rent it.

The movie which tells the tale of a brokenhearted street musician and a girl he meets on the streets, is different in nearly every meaning of the word. The main characters names are never even revealed! It's just a simple movie. It was made for just under $160,000 in 2006, and was first released in that same year in Ireland.

It didn't get a US release until 2007, where it quickly won over numerous critics. It appeared in the 'Top Ten of 2007' movie lists for 36 different critics! It was named Third in Entertainment Weeklys "25 Most Romantic Movies of the Last 25 Years." (I know, I usually don't watch much for romantic movies, but work with me here.) It won an Oscar in 2007 for Best Original Song "Falling Slowly," and received a Grammy Nomination for the soundtrack.

You're probably thinking right now...'How come I've never heard of this movie?' 'Who is in this movie?' 'Falling Slowly?' Well, here's the song:


And them accepting their Oscar:


Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (The actors in Once if you haven't caught that from the video) are not proffesional actors. They are musicians, who currently tour under the name 'The Swell Season.' Before this movie, they were unknown. Now, they travel the world performing sold-out shows.

And they still find time to do solo music as well. Glen recently had songs on the soundtracks of 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' (a song I shared in a previous post) and 'The Hunger Games.'

So why is 'Once' my favorite movie of all time? It's hard to explain, really. It has no action, which is almost a must with any other movie I love. It has no known actors starring in it. So what is it?

The music plays a huge part. Before I saw this movie, I only listened to country music. This movie opened my ears to a whole other genre, and led me to music that I listen to all of the time now. And it's excellent music. Every track on the soundtrack has that strong pull.

Anyway, I hope all of you decide to check out this amazing movie. Here's the trailer below, to hopefully sell you on it completely if I haven't done so already:


Until Next Time...:)
W.