Delayed Reaction: Once

The Pitch: Two musicians record a few songs and those songs are pretty great.

How I Came Into It: During the 2008 Oscars, I remember the Original Song category being dominated by Enchanted. They did performances of all the songs at the show and "Falling Slowly" got my attention. Then it won the Oscar, which seemed like a surprise at the time (apparently, it almost wasn't even eligible). Shortly after that, I downloaded the song and it's been one of my favorite songs for a while. Eventually, I was going to have to see this movie.

Why I Saw It: The music is terrific. That's the most important thing. Without the excellent music, this would be a film about a couple that never was, with capable performances made on a shoestring budget. This is damn near being a concert movie without the concert. For non-actors, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are pretty good and their chemistry is apparent. The story is sweet and simple and a little sad in just the right way. Really though, it's about the music. Maybe I need to get that soundtrack. I'm sure I can find it.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: At first, I put down that I'd like to see the version of this with a larger budget, but I'm pulling back from that. No budget is what caused the movie to cast Hansard. No budget is what inspired the guerilla filming strategy where most of the extras were people unaware that a movie was being filmed. This version of the movie wouldn't exist with traditional funding and studio backing. Movies like this aren't just chance and alchemy. So yeah, no regrets about what I saw in this movie, even if it isn't perfect.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend