I went to Blockbuster last night looking for a couple of old flicks which have been recommended to me but I've never seen. They were unavailable, so I reached for an old favorite, Meet Joe Black, then chanced upon an obscure New Release - 2 copies only - called once. (yes, I know its uncapitalized...)
At least I thought it was obscure...as in unheard-of-by-anyone-but-myself. I was going to introduce the world to this completely original and beautiful movie...alas, in reading Annie Barlow's blog today, I found that both she and Jandy had already discovered this gem and already blogged about it...long ago, in Jandy's case. Well, well, well. Usurped again. Someday I'll get used to it, I suppose. In the meantime, I shall declare my opinion anyway (whad'ya mean you're not surprised?).
The music in this film is written and performed by its "stars" who of all things - imagine this - are musicians and not actors! And it shows. In a good way, that is. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova write, play, sing, perform and act flawlessly together. Visually, the film resembles a documentary, and possesses a certain raw quality which lends it credibility. Annie B. is spot on to call it "sweet and real"...now if we can only increase her appreciation for music that is "slow and thoughtful." :-) The permanently endearing aspect of the movie, for me, was the characters' retention of honor. A rare find in any cinematic era, I'd say.
To get a taste of Glen and Marketa's musical style, check out this video. (No, I still can't imbed YouTube videos...I thought I had learned how, but I just tried and the site says they are currently undergoing maintenance. Just my luck.) After you rent and watch the movie, do a web search on Glen or Marketa and learn more about them...I wouldn't do it beforehand. I'm glad I knew nothing when I first saw it, but their real-life stories are fascinating.
ENJOY!
5 comments:
:) I'm so glad you liked Once! As far as usurping goes, you scooped me on Bella a few weeks ago...I hadn't really heard of it before you mentioned it, and I still haven't seen it. So there's that.
Thanks for trying to make me feel better...:-)
I visit your blog sporadically because you are so "in-tune" with pop culture and I usually have NO IDEA what you're talking about, so I miss out on a lot of what you say! I watch exactly 1 TV show..."Numbers" on Friday night at 9 with my husband. Otherwise I am without a clue, and I watch movies the same way I visit your blog...very hit and miss.
Maybe I should pay more attention to you, Jandy!
I'll be interested to hear what you think of Bella, because I liked it even though I think those who are more literarily and artistically educated might scoff at it.
I'll try to be more accessible in the future! I certainly don't intend to confuse or exclude, though I'm sure I'm often thoughtless enough to do just that.
Numb3rs is a good show, something I never though I'd say about something that has so much math (ugh!). I'll be sure to write about Bella when I get a chance to see it.
I always enjoy hearing about what you're reading--despite my status as English lite grad student, I think you read more than I do. (Although you might lose that honor if I manage to keep up with my Victorian Lit and Critical Theory classes this semester!)
Did you MEAN to say "English-Lite"? It's funny, whether you meant it or not!
I don't know that there's anything you can do differently on your blog to accomodate an unenculturated person like myself.
BTW, if I read more than you do, it's because I have so much catching up to do! You were fortunate to be raised in a reading household, right? I never read a piece of real literature until my Senior year of high school when I discovered Paradise Lost! Soon afterward I was a full-time student with a full-time job, then a full-time mom...only in the last 4-5 years have I really been able to read again.
Just curious...do you see EVERY movie that comes out? It seems like it!
HA! No, I meant to say English lit, but English-lite works just as well sometimes. ;)
Well, you'll always stay ahead of me when it comes to Paradise Lost. We read excerpts from it in one of my undergrad classes, and I vowed I would never touch it again. Totally not my thing (I'm much more into 20th century, and a bit of 19th, but the 17th-18th centuries do nothing for me), and I've worked very hard to avoid Milton since. Good to know it brought you into the world of literature, though!
And no, I don't see even close to all the films that come out! I see maybe two or three a month in theatres, and then catch up some on DVD, but there are tons I miss completely. This year I've done really well, though, on catching most of the ones I really wanted to see.
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