Moving, uplifting, inspiring, beautiful! - Once Reviews

A simple, winning film about the power of music to bring grandeur to ordinary life, and to magically create deep bonds - perhaps even love - between strangers. The actors are charmingly natural and understated, the story is told subtly, and spiked with good humor, but the core of the film is the series of heartfelt, passionately performed songs that bring these likable, aloof characters' feelings to life. One description of music is "the use of sound to stir the human soul", and this movie wonderfully captures the interplay between the strugles that make up a life and the music that emerges from it. Among many emotional peaks in this Irish film is a scene where people gather for dinner and drinks, and every guest must sing a song. You see and feel how music is an aspect of everyday life and expression, something we all have within us, rather than a show that's presented on a stage. Charming characters, poor visuals, wonderful sound. A film that plays like it is about the best aspects of real life.