For once
Life offers up puzzles, even on a quiet Friday evening when there’s only videogames on the wall. Try to figure out how a busker-robber, a Hoover-hauler, a piano-loaner, some flowers and a purloined motorcycle could be tied together.
In this case, it’s through a lovely little movie that is actually a soundtrack with some video footage to keep the notes together. Earlier this week, the CBC website carried an article about music in nomination for the Oscars this coming Sunday. The short clip they were showcasing led me to seek out the movie, albeit through alternate distribution channels, since our local theatres don’t provide much in original language content from beyond the pale.
Just in case the nominee becomes a winner, the movie is Once. Set in Dublin, it’s the sort of fare that Hollywood could never produce; too many names needing too much money. Here we have a production that is just above amateur, providing the perfect vehicle for two musicians to ride across your mind. I went into the viewing with no expectations and came out with no disappointment.
The soundtrack is a keeper. I’ll have this one on the bus, perhaps in the car and maybe on my collection of instruments. The career skills of Glen Hansard are evident, and I’ll be exploring his catalogue.
Some of the scenery seemed very familiar; odd, since I haven’t been to that Grafton Street yet. Then it struck me; the webcam I used to watch in the middle of the night.
