Once

Once is a musical for people who hate musicals. This Irish import, winner of the audience award at last January's Sundance Film Festival, is the kind of very small, intimate story that should simply be discovered, not overhyped. Set in Dublin, Once centers around a thirtysomething street musician (Glen Hansard) who still lives at his father's place while hoping for that "big break". He is approached by a rose-selling Czech immigrant ( Markéta Irglová), who has a mother and daughter to support and also harbors ambitions as a songwriter and musician herself. She's clearly looking to hook up with him musically and romantically (even though her child's father is still in the picture). The two start making beautiful music together, but to the filmmakers' credit, the path of their relationship is anything but predictable. Apart from the basic charm of the film and appealing characters credited only as "guy" and "girl," there are the cool Van Morrison–flavored folk/rock tunes that flood the soundtrack and really cement this as the unique motion picture experience it is. Produced on what looks like no budget, the film is cannily written and directed by John Carney, and it looks like it could develop into the kind of surprising successful summer date movie that is guaranteed to get you laid shortly after seeing it with your significant other. If you've got an appetite for something a little different, Once may strike just the right chord.