Movie · 2007 · Drama, Music, Romance · 1h 25m · R · English
Curator score: 8.5/10 (234.9K ratings)
How often do you find the right person?
Overview
A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.
Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh, Gerard Hendrick, Alaistair Foley, Geoff Minogue, Bill Hodnett, Danuse Ktrestova, Darren Healy, Mal Whyte, Marcella Plunkett, Niall Cleary, Wiltold Owski, Krzysztos Tlotka, Tomek Glowacki, Attila Kouvacs, Sean Miller, Pat McGrath, Praghosa, Kate Haugh
Where to watch
BroadwayHD
Curator Review
Verdict
A small, intimate music romance that wins on authenticity, aching chemistry, and songs that feel emotionally lived-in rather than polished to death. Its loose, handmade quality is part of the charm, and the music carries the story with real force.
Best for
viewers who like naturalistic romance
fans of singer-songwriter stories
people who value music as character development
audiences open to low-budget indie filmmaking
viewers who want a bittersweet, hopeful tone
Skip if
you need a tightly plotted romance
you dislike understated acting
you want glossy production values
you prefer big musical set pieces over intimate performances
you are impatient with slice-of-life storytelling
Overview
Once is the rare music film that feels discovered rather than manufactured. It keeps its scale small and its emotions close, letting songs emerge from ordinary streets, cramped rooms, and awkward conversations until they become the film’s truest form of confession.
Worth noting
The romance is quiet, tentative, and deeply affecting because it never tries to force itself into a conventional arc. Instead, the film trusts performance, chemistry, and the ache inside the lyrics to do the heavy lifting. That restraint gives the ending its power.
Bottom line
It is also a showcase for how much feeling can be carried by simplicity. The rough edges, handheld intimacy, and unshowy direction make the whole thing feel personal, almost overheard. For viewers who connect to music as emotional shorthand, it can be devastating in the best way.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Silent J (4★) · 2170 likes
You ever listen to a song so beautiful and amazing that it just causes you to break down and cry?
Once has a lot of those songs.
adambolt (3★) · 1310 likes
can't believe this is the first movie to be filmed on a nokia phone
Dragonknight (4★) · 1005 likes
”It’s you I love.”
Two non-professional actors. A few heartfelt songs and a budget of just 112,000$. That’s all director John Carney needs to construct a miraculous collection of human emotions that tend to break your heart or uplift you depending on how you like to connect with the characters and the overall atmosphere of the film. With its unimaginable simplicity Once reaches the heights that many movies so desperately try to achieve with multi million dollar budgets, fake superstars… more
dselwyns (5★) · 891 likes
Imagine meeting a guy and asking him to play a song he's written, and he plays bloody Falling Slowly.
ale (4.5★) · 812 likes
Guy: What's the Czech for "Do you love him?"Girl: Milujes ho.Guy: So, milujes ho?Girl: No, miluji tebe
This film is so beautiful, who cares about the cinematography or lighting or any technical aspect.This film is a miracle.