Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

The Westport Library’s MovieLine series will show the recently released tender Irish film Once on March 4th. It’s the sweet story of a Dublin guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes his living fixing vacuum cleaners in his father’s shop by day, and an immigrant Czech woman who plays piano and does odd jobs when not caring for her mother and daughter. They grow to know each other as they put together a demo disc in hopes of landing a music contract. The true romantic will love watching them fall in love through their songs. Yet even as the characters grow to know each other better, the audience never comes to know their names.

Once is a Sundance Film Festival winner USA Today described as having “some of the most appealing, moving and rousing musical numbers heard in independent films.” In fact the song Falling Slowly from the movie is nominated for an Academy Award this year. Glen Hansard of the the Irish Band The Frames gives a lovely performance. Ireland’s economic growth and the continuing wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe serves as background, lending an interesting cultural twist to the film.

Come watch Once at 7:00 p.m. on March 4, 2008 in the Library’s McManus Room. This film is 85 minutes long and rated R.