Saturday, June 16, 2007

Once

So we went to see this magical little Irish film last week.

It's called Once, and the title is somewhat of a joke, in that the movie and its songs keep swishing around your head for days and days and days. Once, my foot.

Once tells the story of a street musician in Dublin who befriends a quirky Czech flower peddler. And in a way that makes bloated movie musicals like Rent and Moulin Rouge seem downright silly, the main characters in Once sing their hearts out to each other. But unlike those other films, it all works. And here's the kicker: Once was filmed on a budget of $10,000. (Take a breath, let that sink in.) Yes, there are scenes that cry out for a Steadicam, and scenes that cry out for some Hollywoood lighting, but in a strange way it's the low-budget-ness of it all that gives Once it's charm. For the first few hours after seeing Once I kept thinking what they could have done with more money; now I keep coming back to what they did with what they had.

And that's without even mentioning the film's infectious main numbers. Like one of those guys who ride the Cyclone at Coney Island over and over, I think I must have set an iTunes record for listening to "If You Want Me" this past week.


I've been thinking about the word "once" this morning. It obviously begins just about every fair tale we know. But there are lots of other uses.

As in, "Once, while standing at the Chanel counter in Manhattan, trying to buy a gift for his sister back in Tunisia, Sophien Bennaceur met Catherine Bennett."




Or, "I was shooting a commercial ad campaign once for the media company Andi Small works for. She mentioned that she was getting married and one unglamorous job (illustrating a campaign on frivolous lawsuits) led to a far more glamorous one (illustrating love and romance)."
























































I could also get creative and say, "Bride-to-be Christina Princi once worked with the aforementioned Catherine Bennett at the William Morris Agency in New York, though now teaches drama to young school children here in Virginia. She will wed Michael Outten in the fall."




And finally, a no-brainer, as I watched Alexandra celebrate another birthday: "You'll only turn four once."


Now, on a personal level, once I get this blog to format correctly I need to jump in the shower and get ready for today's wedding at the Naval Academy. As always, double-click on the pics for a slightly larger view!

See ya,


Matt