Once

* Notes *
The Irish film Once was released on DVD earlier this week. I saw it a few months ago, and was determined to dislike it, as it was advertised about a thousand times on NPR as being about musicians finding romance on the streets of Dublin. Imagine my surprise to learn Once is actually a musical of sorts, and a very charming one at that. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová sing and play well, their songs are pretty, though lyrically they do tend to veer toward the maudlin. One gets the impression that neither of them are truly actors, but they do work well together and were able to pull it off. The movie itself is sweet without being cloying.

* Tattling *
The patrons of the Elmwood are usually subdued, if anyone is loud, it is usually me and my inappropriate laughter. There was one time when I could not stop laughing at Mulholland Drive. The audience of a dozen people for Once was silent and barely moved.