Once is a wonderful movie – everyone must see it.   An Irish film, it tells the story of a jaded Dublin street musician (never named in the film – in the credits, he’s listed as “The Guy”) and a young Czech immigrant (also never named – “The Girl”) who meet and literally make beautiful music together.   Music fills almost every scene, whether the Guy and the Girl are playing together in a piano shop, writing music, listening to homemade CDs, or recording an album of the Guy’s songs.  Elizabeth and I were both struck at how realistic their songwriting process was – then we read the credits.  The Guy, played by Glen Hansard, and the Girl, played by Marketa Irglova, actually wrote the songs for the movie.  In a less well-done film, this could have been a mere gimmick, but in Once, it adds to the magic.  (Hansard and Irglova also recorded an album unrelated to the movie while it was being filmed.)

I can’t say too much more about why I like it so much without giving away the plot.  I will say that the movie is a powerful statement about the nature of true love, and I’ll leave it at that.

(BTW, Once is still playing at the Esquire.)