Once (2007) Rank 5 Reviews

Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)

For reasons they'll have to go to hell for someday, the Motion Picture Association of America ratings board gave Once an R, for a handful of swear words. Ignore that. And enjoy the film. ...read the complete Once movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)

Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)

There's not a false moment within the film's 88-minute running time, nor many that could be done any better. ...read the complete Once movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)

Entertainment Insiders (Eric Lurio)

Definitely worth the bucks. Take your honey to this for a date. You'll be glad you did. ...read the complete Once movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Eric Lurio)

Boxoffice Magazine (Ray Greene)

This touching Irish re-imagining of the classic backstage musical has a filmmaker's eye and a poet's heart. ...read the complete Once movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Ray Greene)

Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

Are you looking for a little film you can make your own, an enchanting, unpretentious blend of music and romance you can watch forever? If you do, Once is about to come into your life and make it whole. ...read the complete Once movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

Reel.com (Gary Goldstein)

Forget the generic title, Once is an utterly beguiling, pitch perfect romantic musical that speaks volumes about love, passion, creativity, and hope. ...read the complete Once movie review at Reel.com (Gary Goldstein)

Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)

The movie swoons, and you will too. ...read the complete Once movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)

MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)

I adored it, fell madly in love with each frame each note each nuance each lyric. ...read the complete Once movie review at MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)

Chicago Sun-Times (Mary Houlihan)

[A] wonderful film that is one of the year's best. ...read the complete Once movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Mary Houlihan)

Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

The bohemian Irish musical is so phenomenal you'll need to see it a second time, if only to confirm to yourself that the movie is really as good as you remembered. ...read the complete Once movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Modern Fabulousity (Gabriel Shanks)

Astonishing...it cleaves through the conventions of the musical form, leaving the raw emotion but junking the showy glitz. ...read the complete Once movie review at Modern Fabulousity (Gabriel Shanks)

Newsday (Gene Seymour)

No matter what your musical tastes, Once will reinforce your belief in the power of melody and harmony to heal one's inner wounds. ...read the complete Once movie review at Newsday (Gene Seymour)

Onion AV Club (Nathan Rabin)

Imagine Belle And Sebastian remaking In The Mood For Love as a heartbreaking low-fi musical, and you have a fair approximation of the film's melancholy, unexpected genius. ...read the complete Once movie review at Onion AV Club (Nathan Rabin)

Looking Closer (Jeffrey Overstreet)

By the end of the year, Once will be the movie doomed to lose at the Oscars but live on in everyone's hearts. ...read the complete Once movie review at Looking Closer (Jeffrey Overstreet)

Old School Reviews (John A. Nesbit)

very natural and believable character study of two people attracted through music ...read the complete Once movie review at Old School Reviews (John A. Nesbit)

Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)

This lovely tale of a love affair between a Dublin street musician and a flower girl will leave you wistful for more. It's a movie to fall in love with and a movie to fall in love during. It is the most naturalistic musical ever. ...read the complete Once movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)

Orlando Weekly (Brett Register)

The chemistry between Hansard and Irglová flows from the screen, easily creating one of the most romantic films of our generation. Independently redefining this classic genre, Once is a musical that movingly tells a realistic love story." ...read the complete Once movie review at Orlando Weekly (Brett Register)

Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

The fact that the music seems to come from an organic source, growing out of the characters and intertwined with the story, makes Once a singularly touching musical. ...read the complete Once movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)

Film Experience (Nathaniel Rogers)

Once owes its genuine immediacy to the blessed decision to capture its musicians in the flush of actual performance. ...read the complete Once movie review at Film Experience (Nathaniel Rogers)

Detroit News (Tom Long)

A sweet, raw blessing of a film. ...read the complete Once movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)

Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

Once , a film so sweet, unassuming, real, surefooted and warm that you might find yourself loving it as you would a person, is a bare-bones boy-meets-girl story. ...read the complete Once movie review at Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)

Stripped of just about all artifice and dazzle, shot on the cheap on city streets, this Sundance gem is wiser about artistic creation and the fickle ways of love than any song-and-dance spectacular you've recently encountered. ...read the complete Once movie review at Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)

Boston Globe (Ty Burr)

In its brief running time, writer-director John Carney does something both profound and unexpected: He reinvents the movie musical as a genre of swooning rock 'n' roll realism. ...read the complete Once movie review at Boston Globe (Ty Burr)

Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)

The word "real" is rarely used to describe the musical genre. Typically, a musical is all about heightened emotions - how else could you explain bursting into song at the drop of a hat. "Once" - a small gem of a film about a struggling guitarist who ...read the complete Once movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Bill White)

A television director and two musicians have made a miracle of a movie that is both fairy tale and slice of life. ...read the complete Once movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Bill White)

zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)

I love, love, love this movie. I really can't say enough nice things about it. Even if you aren't a fan of music, you will find something to cherish in this beautiful, sincere, honest, and touching film. ...read the complete Once movie review at zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)

Phantom Tollbooth (--)

They meet in Dublin, the boy and the girl do. In the streets where he plays his guitar to avoid fixing vacuum cleaners, where she sells flowers to feed her old mother and young child. He is a native to the British Isles who dreams of a record deal. She ...read the complete Once movie review at Phantom Tollbooth (--)

Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)

We do not fall in love nearly enough at the movies, but this is one to adore. ...read the complete Once movie review at Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)

Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)

Writer/director John Carney has fashioned a unique twist on the musical with this affecting story of unrequited love between a couple who express their emotions through their song lyrics. Featuring Glen Hansard, the founder of the Irish band The Frames, ...read the complete Once movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)

Murphy's Movie Reviews (Ted Murphy)

One of the surprises of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival was a charming, little Irish film -- a musical, even -- called ONCE. It proved popular enough to pick up the World Audience Award and was acquired by Fox Searchlight for distribution. ...read the complete Once movie review at Murphy's Movie Reviews (Ted Murphy)

EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

It's a smiling, hopeful film, simply constructed and very emotionally appealing. ...read the complete Once movie review at EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)

One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Wins you over without appearing even to try... Once ...is so emotionally resonant and exuberantly enjoyable that you might just want to see it more than that. ...read the complete Once movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

The film drags a bit and Irglova's inexperience as an actor sometimes leaves her costars in the lurch. But it's a sweet little film just the same. ...read the complete Once movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

Flak Magazine (Stephen Himes)

It has a Before Sunrise vibe, but the aphrodisiac is music rather than pseudo-philosophical Gen-X ramblings. ...read the complete Once movie review at Flak Magazine (Stephen Himes)

CHUD (Devin Faraci)

I guarantee to you that this film will, in a few years, be regarded as a small classic. Discover Once now. ...read the complete Once movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)

ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)

A top viewing choice for the musically-inclined cynical idealist. ...read the complete Once movie review at ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)

Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)

Director and writer John Carney has truly captured the much sung about smiling Irish eyes in this delightful, warm, touching film. With only a $130,000 budget Carney managed to create a film that will stick with you longer than any of the multimillion ...read the complete Once movie review at Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)

ComingSoon.net (Edward Douglas)

The perfect movie to fall in love with, as well as the perfect movie to fall in love to. ...read the complete Once movie review at ComingSoon.net (Edward Douglas)

Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)

A touching, tender and smart film that effectively blends elements of musical and romance, while maintaining an air of realism and honesty one rarely finds in either genre. ...read the complete Once movie review at Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)

Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)

Writing about a movie like "Once" almost feels like a betrayal: It's such a modest, unassuming picture that you fear you might crush it by putting too many words around it. This is a love story between an Irish guy and a Czech girl -- we never learn ...read the complete Once movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Gives off good vibes. ...read the complete Once movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

The best musical of a generation? No, but it is good. ...read the complete Once movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

FilmStew.com (Brett Buckalew)

The Irish musical "Once" can easily be classified as a small movie. It was made independently, shot in a grainy, handheld style and its boy-meets-girl narrative is a model of simplicity. However, beneath its deceptively modest exterior, the film ...read the complete Once movie review at FilmStew.com (Brett Buckalew)

Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

The camera work is shaky and the production so on-the-fly that onlookers stare into the camera during a street scene. That didn't happen in "Dreamgirls." Yet "Once" contains more magic than most other musicals. Written and directed by John Carney, ...read the complete Once movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)

Hollywood.com (--)

Much like Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, this dreamy duet between a Dublin singer-songwriter and a single mother isn't so much a love story but a study in how and why two potential soul mates may or may not fall in love. ...read the complete Once movie review at Hollywood.com (--)

KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)

John Carney and Glen Hansard used to play together in an Irish band known as The Frames. Hansard stayed with the band but Carney decided to try his hand at filmmaking. Now the two are working together again in a new film called Once (opening May 26 at ...read the complete Once movie review at KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)

Irish Times (Michael Dwyer)

SMALL is beautiful, according to the much-borrowed title of a 1973 collection of essays written by an economist. That claim is just as valid when applied to the micro-budget movie that is Once, a deceptively simple love story that proves disarmingly ...read the complete Once movie review at Irish Times (Michael Dwyer)

New York Times (A.O. Scott)

Once makes a persuasive case that the real future of the movie musical may lie not in splashy grandeur but in modesty and understatement. ...read the complete Once movie review at New York Times (A.O. Scott)

Providence Journal (Michael Janusonis)

The captivating Irish musical romance Once will warm all but the stoniest hearts. The film chronicles the yearning mutual attraction between The Guy (an anonymous Dublin street busker played by Glen Hansard of the Frames) and The Girl (a nameless ...read the complete Once movie review at Providence Journal (Michael Janusonis)

Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)

Given [director] Carney's roughshod methods, Once never resembles a standard studio offering, which works much to its benefit. Between Carney's unadorned writing and his rustic directing approach, Once always remains grounded in reality. ...read the complete Once movie review at Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)

Austin Chronicle (Toddy Burton)

Once transcends even its own ambitions, becoming a complex meditation on relationships, Irish culture, and music. ...read the complete Once movie review at Austin Chronicle (Toddy Burton)

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)

Thanks to the ingratiating lead performers and their honest music performances, and the sensitivities of writer-director John Carney, it's a story worth seeing. ...read the complete Once movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)

About.com (Jurgen Fauth)

Once is the genuine article: a winning love story told with simple grace and humanity. ...read the complete Once movie review at About.com (Jurgen Fauth)

Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)

A charming and endearing Irish film about two down-and-out individuals who collaborate on a musical project that deeply enriches them both in surprising ways. ...read the complete Once movie review at Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)

TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)

It's a different kind of movie than your typical summer fare, but it never hits a wrong note and art-house lovers should see it... at least once. ...read the complete Once movie review at TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)

Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)

A beautiful little gem of a movie ...read the complete Once movie review at Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)

While Once doesn't really reinvent anything, it is a marvelous addition to the short list of genuinely good rock musicals. ...read the complete Once movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)

IGN Movies (Scott Collura)

Writer-director John Carney, a former musician himself, has constructed a simple story that runs deep with implied character history and motivation. Little of importance is much said in the film, though the soul of the characters is often gleaned through ...read the complete Once movie review at IGN Movies (Scott Collura)

Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)

This is an unusual and completely engaging movie. ...read the complete Once movie review at Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)

Screen It! (Jim Judy)

It's the answer to our cinematic prayers, not just for a believable musical, but also a terrific movie in general. ...read the complete Once movie review at Screen It! (Jim Judy)

Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)

Is it honestly felt? Absolutely. Is it perfect? Only in spots. ...read the complete Once movie review at Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)

San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

Once captures the intoxicating one-two punch of loving music and falling in love better than any movie since Tender Mercies and The Buddy Holly Story (1978). ...read the complete Once movie review at San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)

Talking Pictures (UK) (UK)

The Guy (Glen Hansard, lead singer of The Frames) is a street musician who lives with his father and sings on a mostly empty Grafton Street in Dublin after working his day job repairing vacuum cleaners. Outwardly cheerful, underneath he still pines for ...read the complete Once movie review at Talking Pictures (UK) (UK)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

Sweet and surprisingly involving, and several of the songs deserve to be hits. ...read the complete Once movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)

New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

Once isn't especially complex, but the chemistry between its appealing leads feels deeply true. You'd have to look awfully hard to find such sincerity in a Hollywood romance. ...read the complete Once movie review at New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)

New York Post (Kyle Smith)

So heartfelt and sparse, so quietly genuine with its dingy digital images -- so not Rent . ...read the complete Once movie review at New York Post (Kyle Smith)

Urban Cinefile (Urban Cinefile Critics)

A film driven by music, as distinct from the traditional Hollywood musical structure, Once is a simple yet not simplistic love story which doesn't end as you might expect. If it did, it would be less original and less haunting. The filmmaking is - to me, ...read the complete Once movie review at Urban Cinefile (Urban Cinefile Critics)

Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

Told with the simplicity of a Chaplin film (more than once I was reminded of City Lights ), Once has the tentative and unpredictable amble of a chance encounter rather than the absolute and overdetermined structure of a Hollywood film. ...read the complete Once movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)

Pragmatically recognizing life's hardships while romantically yearning for something more gives Once a quintessentially Irish flavor, as well as a poignancy that's both hard-edged and heartfelt. ...read the complete Once movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)

Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

I can't imagine anyone seeing Once and not instantly falling in love with it. ...read the complete Once movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)

Newark Star-Ledger (Lisa Rose)

Elegantly capturing the alchemy of songwriting -- not to mention the alchemy of fleeting romance -- it's a one-of-a-kind movie to enthrall musicians and listeners alike. ...read the complete Once movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Lisa Rose)

Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

Cut through the Spidey-Shrek hype and seek it out. You won't be sorry. It's a magical, beguiling wonder. ...read the complete Once movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)

Once proves once and for all that imagination trumps big bucks. ...read the complete Once movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Once is a winning and engaging portrait of two people's powerful connection through music. ...read the complete Once movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)

Once is a love story told in songs, a romance between two people just getting to know each other, and the music is completely organic to both their tentative attraction and their backstories as individuals. ...read the complete Once movie review at Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)

Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)

One of the movie's pleasures is that it keeps us asking what sort of love story will Once become? ...read the complete Once movie review at Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)

Premiere Magazine (Ethan Alter)

Once may not boast stellar production values or elaborate dance numbers, but in its own scruffy way it captures the spirit of the genre better than any recent Hollywood musical. ...read the complete Once movie review at Premiere Magazine (Ethan Alter)

St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

The perfect movie for people who love music. ...read the complete Once movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))

Movie Habit (Matt Anderson)

... this modest little baby's loaded with good ol' Dublin soul. ...read the complete Once movie review at Movie Habit (Matt Anderson)

Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

Unforgettable melody is the foundation of this heartfelt Irish romance that puts a twist on the movie musical. ...read the complete Once movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

Toronto Star (Linda Barnard)

This indie musical is a bijou of a film that joins unaffected performances and a compelling soundtrack in a low-budget, documentary-style film that lets us watch two people fall in love to the mesmerizing soundtrack of the songs they create. ...read the complete Once movie review at Toronto Star (Linda Barnard)

Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)

Sweet but never cloying, simple without being simplistic, delicate yet not at all precious, this is a film guaranteed to set your toes to tapping even as it plays a number on your heartstrings. ...read the complete Once movie review at Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)

May appeal especially to romantic young people who can develop crushes on the lead characters in tandem with the smittenness that emerges onscreen. ...read the complete Once movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)

Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

It's a musical courtship--he on guitar, her on piano, and both in vocal harmony. It's also a scruffy cinematic sleeper with which anyone's liable to fall in love. ...read the complete Once movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)

Focusing strictly on stripped-down performances of great music and the charming chemistry between the two leads, it's a perfectly realized yet unassuming movie that deserves to find a big audience. ...read the complete Once movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

A portrait of an intimate musical friendship that becomes a safe harbor for two ships passing in the night. ...read the complete Once movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

The traditional movie musical may not be dead, but it's on life support, a victim of the changing taste of movie-goers. Once is an effort to provide a musical that works for a modern audience by grounding the situation in reality and cutting out the ...read the complete Once movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)

...a unique, enthralling experience in which song and emotion stand in for dialogue and plot. ...read the complete Once movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)

Metromix.com (Matt Pais)

As a story about people with songs coursing through their veins--Julie Andrews notwithstanding-- Once captures the true Sound of Music. ...read the complete Once movie review at Metromix.com (Matt Pais)

eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)

Carney becomes a little too enamored of the cinematographic limitations, and loses some important scenes to darkness and lousy focus. Call me crazy, but I like to actually see cinematic moments of emotional longing and heartache, not try to squint them in ...read the complete Once movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)

Wall Street Journal (Joe Morgenstern)

It takes all of 10 seconds for John Carney's "Once" to announce itself as something special. A handsome young street musician in Dublin raises his voice in song, then raises it higher with heart-stopping fervor. When a mysteriously endearing young woman ...read the complete Once movie review at Wall Street Journal (Joe Morgenstern)

Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)

Casting musicians rather than actors proves to be a wise choice because their interplay is completely naturalistic. All of the musical interaction is authentic and, by extention, so is their entire relationship. ...read the complete Once movie review at Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)

eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)

As great as Once's songs will be on the soundtrack, it cannot compare to the visual stimuli that accompanies the long notes Hansard cries out and the backup that Iglova compliments like a guardian angel. ...read the complete Once movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)

Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)

Musicals ask us to take a happy leap of faith, to believe in a world in which people express their feelings by bursting into song. With Once , Carney has created that world within our own, and it weaves an irresistible spell. ...read the complete Once movie review at Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)

Atlantic City Weekly (Lori Hoffman)

The performances are so naturalistic ... the film feels like a documentary about the early origins of a now hot indie emo band. ...read the complete Once movie review at Atlantic City Weekly (Lori Hoffman)

Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)

The most naturalistic and believable romantic musical you may ever see and hear. ...read the complete Once movie review at Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)

Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

The captivating Irish musical romance Once will warm all but the stoniest hearts. ...read the complete Once movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)

ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)

Music video masquerades as a heart-on-sleeve narrative featuring a charismatic, if musically limited and redundant, Glen Hansard of the Irish rock band the Frames. ...read the complete Once movie review at ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)

Film Threat (Jeremy Mathews)

A movie about the exhilaration of creative catharsis, "Once" is a film of limited production values, a low-quality picture and the occasional flubbed camera move. But it makes up for these flaws with sharp observations, compelling characters and a great ...read the complete Once movie review at Film Threat (Jeremy Mathews)

Haro Online (--)

Once is one of those rare movies that is deceptively simple. On the surface, it is just a story about two people who meet and write songs together. However, underneath, it is rich, complex, and the most satisfying portrait of a relationship between two ...read the complete Once movie review at Haro Online (--)

BlackFilm.com (--)

What happens when the music in the film speaks more volumes than the actual dialogue, and yet they both compliment each other? You get something wonderfully magical. ...read the complete Once movie review at BlackFilm.com (--)

Hollywood Reporter (James Greenberg)

Described by Irish director John Carney as an "art house musical," "Once" was one of the unheralded small films that took people by surprise and became a sleeper hit at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the World Audience Award. The story of a street ...read the complete Once movie review at Hollywood Reporter (James Greenberg)

San Diego Metropolitan (Jean Lowerison)

A chance encounter turns into a fleeting musical partnership and a bittersweet relationship for a Dublin busker called only "Guy" (Glen Hansard, of Irish pub-rock band the Frames) and a chance passerby "Girl" (Marketa Irglov). She stops to listen, they ...read the complete Once movie review at San Diego Metropolitan (Jean Lowerison)

Film Journal International (Frank Lovece)

Fans of The Commitments will raise a glass of Guinness to this sweet, modern-day Irish version of those let's-put-on-a-show movie musicals of the 1940s. A street-level story of a 30-ish singer-songwriter (Glen Hansard of the Irish rock band The Frames, ...read the complete Once movie review at Film Journal International (Frank Lovece)

Slant Magazine (Nick Schager)

nce is the David Gray or James Blunt of movie musicals, and amazingly enough, that's not a bad thing. Scoring his delicate love story to the tunes of its central singer-songwriter couple, John Carney doesn't reinvent the musical genre so much as ground ...read the complete Once movie review at Slant Magazine (Nick Schager)

Pretentious Musings (Kevin Koehler)

Roughly fifteen minutes transpires in Once when a struggling Dublin street musician teaches a girl he just met a song he'd written. She plays piano, he the guitar. The scene takes place at an instrument shop, closed while the proprietor eats lunch. The ...read the complete Once movie review at Pretentious Musings (Kevin Koehler)

L.A. Weekly (Ella Taylor)

The Irish romance Once is one of those urban fairy tales you come out of not wanting to switch on your car radio, make small talk or do anything but shelter in its beguiling ambiance for as long as you can to avoid re-entering the real world. In real ...read the complete Once movie review at L.A. Weekly (Ella Taylor)

Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)

Even when Carney lays on the indie film visual aesthetics a little too thick, the movie never feels anything less than heart-wrenchingly authentic. ...read the complete Once movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)

Film-Forward.com (Kent Turner)

The emo-oriented, folksy score may be the most memorable original film music in some time. ...read the complete Once movie review at Film-Forward.com (Kent Turner)

Maxim (Pete Hammond)

A musical for people who HATE musicals. ...read the complete Once movie review at Maxim (Pete Hammond)

Eye for Film (Amber Wilkinson)

A wonderfully touching but thoroughly offbeat romance, interlaced with songs. ...read the complete Once movie review at Eye for Film (Amber Wilkinson)

filmcritic.com (Chris Cabin)

Couldn't be less bogus if James Blunt sat on a stage in front of an empty bar saying "this one's for the lady in the back." ...read the complete Once movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Cabin)

Variety (Dennis Harvey)

A Summit Entertainment release of a Samson Films production in association with the Irish Film Board and RTE. Produced by Martina Niland. Executive producer, David Collins. Directed, written by John Carney. ...read the complete Once movie review at Variety (Dennis Harvey)

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (--)

"Once" (Fox Searchlight) is a gritty, bare-bones story about musicians that is several notches above more sugarcoated fare like "Music and Lyrics." A winner of the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Audience Award, "Once" is a low-budget independent ...read the complete Once movie review at U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (--)

Sydney Morning Herald (--)

Jean-Luc Godard said that all you need for a movie is a gun and a girl. I could add obtusely that a camera helps and you could do it without the gun if you had another means of tension - such as a man. The point is that simplicity in movies can be a ...read the complete Once movie review at Sydney Morning Herald (--)

Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)

Communicates the world of the singer-songwriter brilliantly. That said, as a complete film on its own -- Once could be more fulfilling. ...read the complete Once movie review at Hollywood Report Card (Ross Anthony)

New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)

John Carney's Once, from his own screenplay, has been around for a while as a beneficiary of rapturous reviews ever since this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Audience Award. ...read the complete Once movie review at New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)

tonymedley.com (Tony Medley)