Sunday, June 24, 2007

Ireland, the Grand Tour

Friday, Belfast. Saturday, Dublin.

Last night I saw the bittersweetly lilting Irish movie Once, about a busker in Dublin and a young Czech woman he meets. I loved it. My "companion" wasn't quite as enamored of it as I was -- mainly, I think, because the music didn't have the, um, staying power for him that it did for me -- though he conceded in the end that the movie was pretty good. I conceded that Glen Hansard's singing -- he's lead singer of the Frames, a band I've somehow been unfamiliar with till now, even though they've been together since 1990 -- bears some superficial resemblance to that of James Blunt (whom my friend likes). The difference is that James Blunt's voice makes me want to scour my eardrums out with a melon baller every time I hear it. I very much liked Hansard's passionate singing and found his costar, Markéta Irglová (only nineteen years old, I just discovered), equally winning and authentic.

Two thumbs up -- way up! ;)

2 Comments:

Blogger vuboq said...

I want to see this movie very much! There are too many interesting movies showing right now.

10:02 AM  
Blogger diablo said...

i won't concede that it was specifically the singing that made this film less fantastic for me than for you. it was touching albeit a bit sentimental for my taste. i was expecting a film musical. but the film is about the music or about the challenges of pursuing one's artistic vision. the specifics about the boy meets girl with a slight twist in convention was a good touch making it a nice, quiet, small film.

1:37 PM  

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