Once

Once stars Glen Hasard of The Frames which suits him perfectly to play lead role in what is tantamount to a musical where he plays a busker who falls in love with a an immigrant who sells roses on the streets of Dublin.

It is a low key film that only cost $160,000 to make which suits the earthy urban atmosphere the films creates. Indeed there are no special effects and the direction is simply shot, focusing on the music that unfolds as the relationship develops.

Interestingly the lead role was earmarked for Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Batman Begins) who turned it down because he did not want to act opposite his love interest Marketa Irglova who had no previous acting experience nor sing Hansard's high octave vocals. He pulled out and this caused other financial backers to follow suit.

Nevertheless, Hansard ultimately proved to be a sure bet as his song won an Oscar for best original song and the movie won The Independent Spirit Award 2008 for best foreign film.

Unfortunately for me, the movie was too much musical and not enough drama with many times feeling like you are watching a fly on the wall 'making of' documentary for an album with a story thrown in for good measure, which is a shame because it's a good story worth exploring.

If you are a fan of The Frames or musicals then this film will appeal to you. For me, I needed more of a story than lyrics.

I would give this film 5.6 octaves out of 10.