Sometime
in the last year or so, I saw the DVD of the Indie film “Once”. I’m not certain if the film was one of the
lucky things I stumbled across when working at the front desk of the library,
or whether I heard about it from someone else first. One of the delightful
advantages of being a librarian is that the world of books, music, movies and
more that sit within my easy reach every day.
I adored
the movie – it's the story of a somewhat hapless Dublin busker and a young
Czech girl who meet on the streets of Ireland. Although it is the fictional
tale of a story of unrequited, yet star-crossed, love, it is also a story of
hope. The movie is full of tenderness and lovely musical moments – surely ingredients
for success in my book.
“Once”
was filmed over 17 days using two handi-cams on a very cheap and convenient set
– a set made up of the streets of Dublin.
It’s rumored that the movie only cost about $100,000 to make and yet,
within the first two weeks, it was averaging oodles of money in ticket sales per
screening. It was an incredible Indie
hit and to date it has made over $20 million dollars worldwide.
It also
rocketed its two leading actors to stardom which everyone knows can be a
double-edged sword.
John
Carney, the wizard behind the film, first searched for two authentic musicians
to play the lead roles of Guy and Girl. Glen Hansard, lead singer in the Irish
band The Frames was first tapped to compose the songs for the film. When another actor turned down the role of
Guy, Carney turned to Hansard to play him.
Marketa Irglova, a Czech pianist and guitarist (only 18 years old and a
family friend of Glen Hansard) took on the role of Girl. The magic was set.
“Once” was released in March 2007 after being
viewed at that year’s Sundance and Dublin Film Festivals). Within two years of filming, Hansard and
Irglova had won a 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song – “Falling
Slowly”. The film, soundtrack, and award
winning songs were nominated for and won awards across the world. Meanwhile,
Hansard and Irglova formed the duo called The Swell Season and began a world
tour.
Sometime
before 2011, Irish playwright Enda Walsh turned the movie into the musical,
setting the stage for many more accolades and awards. The musical “Once” premiered at the American
Repertory Theater – in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It very quickly moved Off Broadway to New
York City in December 2011 and January 2012 and then onto Broadway a few months
later. That year it won eight 2012 Tony
awards (the most coveted Best Musical among them) and one Grammy for Best
Musical Theater Album. Since 2012, the musical has opened in London and has
toured major cities in the U.S.
A few
weeks ago, Gerry and I had the luck to snag tickets to the musical “Once” at
the Jacobs Theater in the Broadway theater district in Manhattan. It was
obvious to me that the love story is just as wonderful on the stage as on the
screen. I loved it.
The soundtracks to both the musical
and the film are available through our library catalog: “Once: A New Musical”
and “Once: Music from the Motion Picture”.
If you fall in love with the gifted voices in the movie, Glen Hansard
and Marketa Irglova formed The Swell Season and went on to produce two albums,
The Swell Season and Strict Joy, both of which can be found in the Minuteman
Library catalog. (The musical score, for
piano and guitar, is also in library collections across the network should you
wish to learn some of the songs that you loved in the movie).
Hansard and Irglova fell in love
with each other during the filming. In a
documentary about their relationship, Irglova admits to falling in love with
Hansard as a younger girl when he visited their family in the Czech Republic.
The 91 minute documentary film, “The Swell Season” (2011), was made while
Hansard and Irglova were on tour from 2008 through 2010. Their real life romance mimics the love story
of the film and stage versions because the relationship does not work. In the fictional story of “Once”, both the
Guy and the Girl realize that they must try again to make their real lives
work. In the real life story of Hansard
and Irglova, the stress and pressures of sudden fame fractured their romance
and by the end of the documentary they have stayed friends but not lovers.
Hansard
left school at the tender age of 13 to play his guitar and sing on the streets
of Dublin. Years later, after some of
his success, he watched his father drink himself to death. “Swell Season” documents much of Hansard’s
pain and lack of confidence and Irglova’s growth from girl to woman.
Additionally, what is apparent is that Irglova is young – she was very young
when filming “Once” on the streets of Dublin (17) and Hansard is more than 15
years older.
Followers of Hansard’s music can
listen to him on music CDs in the Minuteman Library Network on his solo albums
or others under the name of his band, The Frames. Both he and Irglova appear on compilation
albums, and Hansard wrote two songs on “The Hunger Games: Songs From District
12 and Beyond” (he is the author of Come to the Water and is the singer and
author of Come To the Water). He also
had a part in “The Commitments”, a movie that was released in 1991 when Hansard
was 21 years old. Marketa Irglova released the solo album “Anar” in 2011.
If you are a fan of the movie or
screen version of “Once” and you’re interested in more of Glen Hansard’s or
Marketa Irglova’s talent, check out the Minuteman Library Catalog. If you need assistance, visit or call the
library. A Reference librarian will be
happy to help you find them in the catalog or place them on hold.
