Once – When Music Became Memory, and Two Strangers Found a Song That Lasted Forever
When the movie “Once” premiered in 2007, nobody predicted its impact on the musical cinema landscape. Having been filmed in Dublin on a shoestring budget, using handheld cameras, and natural light, the movie resembled an indie home video rather than a feature. However, within those quiet frames, there was something that very few films had. Most cinema captures stories, “Once” told a truth. Director John Carney, in a small miracle of a film, told the story of a busker and a Czech immigrant who found love in music, fleeting, wordless and real.
The two nameless leads, simply known as “Guy” and “Girl”, were played by musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Their chemistry, portrayed through the medium of music rather than through more traditional acting methods, came together to create a heartbreaking film. However, the true hallmark of “Once” is how its fiction mirrored the real lives of its stars. Their struggles, dreams, and the fleeting connection on screen were not so different from what was happening behind.
The ‘Guy’ in Once is a street musician in Dublin who by day fixes vacuum cleaners, and by night, sings his heart out. This is a man who carries his heartbreak, and as he clutches his guitar, he is lost in the world, and a combination of shield and salvation. When he meets ‘Girl’, her gentle solicitation rekindles his love for music, but more importantly, for romance, for hope, and for himself.
To Glen Hansard, this was more than just a character. It was a mirror. Long before Once, Hansard was a street performer. As a teenager, he used to busk outside pubs in Dublin, his voice ringing out over the pavements in the rain, much like the film’s opening scene. He later formed the band ‘The Frames’ which built a cult following, but like many other artists, he was ever so slightly on the other side of mainstream fame. That burning ache of ‘almost’ became the heartbeat of ‘Once’.
For Hansard, preparation for the role involved the simplest task of all: not acting. Carney, the one-time bassist for The Frames, described the story with Hansard in mind. He considers the film as an opportunity to play a version of himself a few years younger, a character trying to reconcile ambition and disappointment. He fully inhabited the character as he drew from the emotions of his own experiences: sorrow, heartbreak and disillusionment, rejection, and the bittersweet catharsis of finding meaning in his songs.
The opening scene features the song “Say It to Me Now.” The version you hear was recorded with no overdubs and no playback while Hansard was performing on the street in Dublin. That cracked voice, that urgency, that blend of defiance and desperation was pure Hansard. This was not a case of acting; this was an artist exorcising his past.
The Girl Who Reignited the Song — Markéta Irglová’s Quiet Revolution
Markéta Irglová’s “Girl” is a Czech immigrant living in Dublin with her mother and small daughter. She’s grounded, practical, and unshakably kind. While Guy sees music as an escape, Girl sees it as something that sustains and keeps life steady, like a heartbeat. Her emotional control starkly contrasts his volatility, yet together they create something transcendent.
At the age of 17, Irglová had no previous experience in acting, but had already developed a career as a classically trained pianist and singer, and been acquainted with Hansard through Carney. Over the years, they developed a musical camaraderie, jamming for hours and crafting songs that fused folk and soul. When Carney invited them to play in Once, it felt like a natural progression to what they had been doing in their everyday lives.
Irglová prepared for her role by focusing on the emotional fortitude of the character, instead of on acting. “Girl” was not conceived as a romantic figure. She drew inspiration from the unacknowledged stamina of women, particularly immigrants, who carry families through the hardships of survival, and relentlessly pursue their dreams. Irglová embodied that as a Czech émigré. Her dialogue, delivered with a soft accent, and her calm composure, provided grounding emotional honesty to the film.
One of her character’s most iconic moments occurs in the piano shop as she plays “The Hill” alone after Guy leaves. It’s a haunting piece about unexpressed love and impossible decisions. In interviews, Irglová explained that she tapped into her own feelings of uncertainty regarding love and life, and the weight of a world that feels heavy and leaves one feeling “too young.” It’s that rawness, captured in a single take, that accounts for the scene’s emotional power. It is one of the most powerful moments in the entire film.
The Uniqueness of Once
The fact that life imitated art is what makes Once almost mythical. While filming, Hansard and Irglová fell in love as they played their roles. Their connection, which began in front of the camera, deepened after they finished filming, transitioning into the real world, and a loving relationship.
As “The Swell Season,” they began a global tour that featured songs from the film. Audiences were fascinated by the on-screen chemistry that blossomed in real-time on the stage. Still, as in the film, love was ultimately ephemeral. The very passion that elevated their music became burdensome, leading to a melancholic dissolution. The feeling was comparable to the concluding moments of Once, where Guy and Girl part acknowledge the bond yet leave something ethereal behind.
In numerous respects, their real-life romance served as the film’s epilogue. It rounded off the story that Carney had started – a tale about grasping a bond, however temporary, and realizing that the essence of love may be in its metamorphosis rather than its permanence.
The Streets That Sang and the World That Listened
The storm that Once created was underestimated when the film was initially screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Shot on a shoe-string budget of $150,000, the film went on to become a sensation. It was described by critics as “the most honest musical in decades” and fans appreciated its simplicity – two people, one week, one shared heartbeat.
There can be no doubt that audiences fell in love with the film’s anchor song, “Falling Slowly.” It may not have been polished, but it’s tenderness, vulnerability, and humanity were the hallmarks of the song’s appeal. The song winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song was, for many, an almost surreal moment. Actors Hansard and Irglová, still dressed like the buskers they were in the film, seem to have been the characters in the film who were finally able to speak and were rewarded for it.
Indian audiences, too, appreciated the film for its emotional cadence. Sacrifice, duty, and silent love are the predominant themes in the film that resonate with the subcontinent, and for so much of it is unspoken. The art, in those regions, often becomes the voice for what cannot be admitted. The film’s title track, “Falling Slowly”, was the anthem for the melancholic, soulfully cinematic love, much like the poetry of Gulzar or the compositions of A.R. Rahman that express the feeling of longing.
A Revolution in Storytelling Concealed by Simplicity
There were, of course, creative acts of rebellion hiding behind the calm, serene storytelling. Carney chose to shoot long takes, defying the convention of forcing drama and instead, letting the characters’ moments breathe. The dialogue was semi-improvised, and most of the film was recorded live, meaning that what the audience hears is what the characters truly sang and felt.
It is remarkable that the film almost did not happen with Hansard and Irglová. Initially, the plan was to cast seasoned actors – even Cillian Murphy was attached for a brief time. When he dropped out, Carney reached out to Hansard, who was hesitant. It was a decision that made a difference. The film lacked polish but gained authenticity.
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