The Little Movie That Could?

Every couple years, a little movie comes along that warms the hearts of filmgoers and critics alike, and becomes the big surprise. This year, that honor was bestowed upon Once, the tale of a busker (that's a street musician to you) and the immigrant girl who rekindles his passion for life. Sadly, for my part, it just didn't connect with me.

I really expected to like the film, and - truth be told - I didn't hate it. I simply kinda shrugged at the end. I'm not too sure what I wanted out of it. Perhaps a different ending, something more "traditional" - which is odd, coming from me. I'm normally quick to champion any picture that can thumb its nose at expectations - particularly at the end. However, for some reason, this time it just didn't do it for me. Also, as the film centers around musicians, there is a plentiful amount of music throughout. Again, typically not a problem for me. Yet, Once is roughly 60% composed of scenes with the Guy (who's never named) singing his songs. They're good songs, and I might even listen to them on their own. But, they simply did not connect with me - there's that phrase again - in a way that propelled the story and/or allowed me to empathize with the character(s).

I caught up with this on DVD and, despite my feelings about the film, opted to watch the short "making of" included therein. Though plenty of details increased my respect for the film and those involved - shot on digital video for just over $100k, good musicians who could kinda act over good actors who could kinda play music - I still came away with a shrug and a slight bewilderment at all the attention and praise. But, hey, as with all things herein, that's just me.