Finally “Once” opened in Toronto last Friday and it was more than I was expecting after reading so many good reviews.

One of the critic’s quotes they show on the movie poster reads “the best music film of our generation”. That phrase lingered in my head for a while trying to think of another music film to compete with “Once”. I still cannot find it.

The reason I think it’s that the movie makes the songs part of the plot of the movie and it doesn’t feel like the typical music film (where people start singing out of nowhere with a full orchestra and everything!).

The movie starts The Frames front man Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, a very talented Czech pianist and it was directed by John Carney, a former Frames bassist. It’s a very small and modest film, but with a real love for music or any truly artistic effort for that matter. Probably the best music film of our generation J

Official link

Read the New York Times review by A. O. Scott

Read The Toronto Start review