Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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416 of 426 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great introduction to Glen Hansard as well as serving as an amazing soundtrack, May 26, 2007
Many visiting Amazon will remember the film THE COMMITMENTS telling the story of an Irish soul band specializing in many of the Stax classics of the sixties. Though most of the attention was focused on the rotund lead singer, the guitarist Outspan Foster was played by a veteran 21-year-old busker by the name of Glen Hansard. He played, in fact, one of the two first members of the band, since he and the band's keyboardist asked Jimmy Rabbitte to help them form a band (though they would dispense of their tentative name, And And And, though they were also considering And And! And). Though no one at the time would have guessed it, it was Hansard more than any other member of the fictional band (though it did tour as a real band in the wake of the movie's success) who would achieve musical success. About the same time that filming for the Commitments began, Hansard had formed a band, the Frames, that would over the course of the next seventeen years develop a reputation for being one of the best live bands in the world and though their recorded output never quite matched the extraordinary live performances they would release several superb albums. Two of the Frames' albums--FITZCARRALDO and THE COST--would be nothing short of masterpieces. One of the original members of the Frames was John Carney. To complete the background story, Carney met the young Czech singer Markéta Irglová while visiting Prague and she later provided some vocals for his 2006 solo album THE SWELL SEASON.
I'm not quite sure whose idea it was to make a movie, but former-Frame Carney and Hansard, with the help of our young Czech heroine, came up with the idea to make a movie based on Carney and Hansard's experiences in Dublin. Though the Frames are not well known in the United States, there are many who regard them and not U2 as the great Irish band. Those seeing this movie are not going to have a great deal of difficulty believing that. Hansard is one of the world's great frontmen, singing with a white-hot intensity remarkably emotional and passionate songs. For those unfamiliar with his work, he will have seemed to drop out of the sky like a meteor. They will have trouble believing someone this talented is not already a household name.
The songs for the movie are culled from a number of places. The absolutely extraordinary "Say It To Me," one of Hansard's greatest songs, comes from the great 1996 Frames' album FITZCARRALDO, "Lies" and "Falling Slowly" come from Hansard's solo album THE SWELL SEASON (on which Irglová also sings), and "When Your Mind's Made Up" is one of the best songs off this year's amazing new Frames' album THE COST. Regardless of the source, the songs here are amazingly well performed, more acoustic than in their original versions. I know some audience members for the film are blown away by the music and I think part of the reason is that they don't realize that these songs represent highlights from a large and exceedingly great body of work. Even so, the great news is that Hansard has written far more great music than appears on this album.
I strongly recommend this disc for people who saw the movie and loved the music (and hey, what's not to adore?). This is simply gorgeous stuff and anyone who isn't moved by it probably is never moved by great music. So the album can act as a terminus, but it should also act as a door to the rest of Hansard's work. The two albums I would most recommend are the two I mentioned above, FITZCARRALDO and THE COST. These are filled with great songs, all songs magnificently by Hansard, who also wrote them. If those don't exhaust your interest you could also look at BURN THE MAPS as well as the aforementioned solo album THE SWELL SEASON. And as fine as this soundtrack is, the two main Frames albums I mentioned are each even better.
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90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You cry, you laugh, you cry again; this is such a joy, September 12, 2007
There are movies that friends tell you about, and if those friends are forceful enough or more people make the same recommendation, you rouse yourself and buy a ticket, and if the movie turns out to be terrific, the next thing you know you're telling everyone about a film they just have to see.
This is called "buzz," and it's a very good thing indeed --- media companies hire consultants, often for impressive sums, to create that initial spark.
But "Once" starred Glen Hansard, lead singer of a terrific Irish band --- The Frames --- that's sadly unappreciated outside of Ireland. His co-star was Markéta Irglová, a 17-year-old Czech high school student who had never acted before.
And it was filmed, in 17 days, for $150,000.
For the longest time, the future of "Once" looked bleak: straight to DVD.
Then the film was invited to Sundance. It won the Audience Award. Fox Searchlight bought it. And as "Once" went out into the world, audiences took to it like a beautiful orphan --- they cherished it and made it a cause.
That's how I came to see it; many people prodded me. What they knew: I'm a sucker for emotion that feels authentic, and so I was absolutely enchanted by this little film.
And I do mean little. He's a singer. His girlfriend has left him. He'd like to make a record and get out of Dublin. Right now, he repairs vacuum cleaners and sings on the streets. Her situation's just as dim. She may dream of music, but she's in an alien culture, separated from her husband; she sells flowers and cleans houses to support her kid and mother. He and She (they are nameless) get together to make music; they become collaborators and friends, their songs propelling the plot. But the big question --- for the audience, anyway --- isn't how their demo tape will be received. It's whether they'll become lovers.
"Two people, a few instruments, 88 minutes and not a single false note," A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times.
And what people! At the start of the movie, Markéta Irglová seemed like her character: a young woman of modest charms and uncertain talent. By the end, I was convinced she was the most beautiful woman in the world, a great talent and a deep soul. Love? I was besotted. And Glen Hansard was the ultimate admirable guy: smart, resourceful, realistic, emotionally aware.
And what music! Hansard started strumming his guitar, and I got weepy. Then he started singing, slow as a nursery lullaby:
I...don't...know....you
But...I....want...you
All...the...more...for...that
Words...fall...through...me
And...always...fool...me
There are, I think, only two responses to feelings this directly expressed: cynicism and acceptance. Friends, this cynic was overcome: I blubbered. And I wasn't the only one.
You may have heard some of the soundtrack; it pops up on better radio stations. If it's considerably more "professional" than the film, there are reasons. Some of the songs were among the greater hits of the Frames. Hansard and Irglová had recorded a CD together. And the film's director, John Carney, was savvy about music --- he had once played bass in The Frames.
Though this is music like no other --- not folk, not rock, mostly just two people literally singing their hearts out --- it's not just for emotional slobs like me. You can listen to it as you work. You can play it at dinner. It's great for a quiet evening.
And, if you must, you can cry --- for happy.
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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Disk. Good Movie. Double Your Pleasure., July 1, 2007
I really really enjoyed the film and though the acting and chemistry was great - it was the music that won me over.
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova's writing and performing was understated and moving. Though many of the songs appear on their 2006 disk 'The Swell Season' most people would have missed that (myself included).
The disk would be worth it for the first two tracks alone ("Falling Slowly" , "If You Want Me"), but the rest of the disk is certainly worth a listen.
Overall, the disk has a Damien Rice feel - and that is not horribly surprising considering the Irish busker w/the harmonies coming from a talented female.
Though the songs stand alone - folks should really see the movie and how Hansard & Irglova's chemistry really makes the entire thing work.
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is mainly Singer-Songwriter, quite Folk, with hints of Pop”
