Once (2007)

Sweetly touching drama set in Dublin. 

An ambitious busker in his thirties (Glen Hansard) meets a Czech girl in her twenties (Markéta Irglová), and they are mutually attracted – despite complicated romantic histories. He was cheated on by his girlfriend, while she was left to care for her baby after her husband left her. They grow closer through a shared passion for music, and begin coming to terms with the past.

It works because it seems so incredibly real. That’s partly because of the low budget and partly because of the high quality of the actors and the script. The songs are perfectly suited to the story, too. Irglová is particularly compelling. She conveys so much depth in her facial expressions alone. And her shy, understated dialogue has the ring of truth – for example, a scene in which they discuss a final meeting that she declines: “We’d just hanky panky if I come now…And that would be nice…Very interesting.”

It’s full of surprising, funny and revealing moments like this. And it’s emotionally rich and open without resorting to sentimentality or standard “love story” tropes.

It was later adapted into a stage play, which I saw performed in London, but the film feels more fresh and original.