As reported in the Sunday Fashion & Style section of The New York Times, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova got in a little shopping at Amoeba Music while in Hollywood, in the days leading up to the Oscars. The musicians/actors and stars of the Irish indie film Once,  won an Oscar last night in the Original Song category for the film's moving composition "Falling Slowly"  --  which they also performed live at the televised event (see clip below). 

The picture above, courtesy of the New York Times'  Emilio Flores, shows the couple shopping at Amoeba Music on Sunset where they reportedly spent time shopping for DVDs (Amoeba prices are way better than back home in Dublin) and talking to fans of the indie success film Once, fans who were pleasantly surprised to see its two stars in the aisles of Amoeba Music.

Personally I was so happy Once won because not only did I fall in love with the film when I first saw it last March, but I saw it under the best possible circumstances: on the big screen in Dublin, Ireland, not far from where much of the film was shot.  And I saw it with two of my favorite people, my dad and sister, who both loved it and its soundtrack as much I did-- so much so that the next day, inspired by the film, we decided to take a short drive south of the city to Killiney, to that beautiful location overlooking Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea where the two main characters in the movie go on their memorable motorbike ride.

I watched the movie Once last night. 

It's a simple but complicated film about two people who meet in Dublin and begin writing songs together.  There's not terribly much plot to it, but I thought it was fantastic.  Nothing seems contrived in this movie, it all feels completely real.  It truly captured a tone, a beautiful feeling of not only melancholy but also joy and inspiration.  There's not much dialogue and most of the communicating actually goes on through the music, which really makes this film different and intriguing. 

We had an instore here at Amoeba SF with the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova back in August and I had the chance to meet them (without ever having seen the movie) and discover how fantastic and genuine they truly are.  Watching the film last night  reminded me of the feeling I had when we met:  Once, like Glen and Marketa themselves (and their equally tremendous road manager Howard), kinda grabbed me right away and I could tell everything was going to be great from just a few minutes in. 

There's a lot of integrity to the characters in the film.  It's a movie about people who are flawed but good hearted, which felt...different from most movies these days.  It was a pleasure to watch this film.  There aren't a bunch of jump cuts and flashy sets.  I enjoyed the fact that the minimal dialogue allowed the viewer to put pieces together and create the story by paying attention.  There's no pandering to the audience in this movie, and that's one of its most refreshing details.  There's also a hell of a lot of chemistry between the two main characters and it's compelling to watch and become absorbed in.  When I finished the movie, I wanted to watch it again right away, which is an unusual feeling!