I enjoyed it also. I thought Glen and Marketa were good/believable.

On another note, I was listening to some of Burn The Maps again this week...
Some excellent tunes: Finally, Dream Awake, Suffer in Silence, Keepsake. Those skeptical of the frames' music should listen to these if you havnt already.

Real life couple. Perhaps a little icky considering that she's only 19/20 and they've known each other since she was 13.

Starbelgrade: did you ever consider making sense at some stage?

It's been said here already but yeah, the reason it's done so well outside of Ireland is probably that people have no idea who Glen is, or who The Frames are for that matter, so the target audience don't have that Glen/Frames fatigue many people here have. I think in Ireland you really have to be a major hardcore fan of Glen's music to be able to sit through the film. The fact that his character is a busker doesn't help either. I now recall a scathing review George Byrne gave it in the Herald, he said it was 'torture' or something, and gave it 1 out of 5. I will still rent the DVD though, out of curiosity.

I agree about 'Burn The Maps': after all 'twas I who wrote the (quite favourable) CLUAS review of said album. 'Dance The Devil' and 'For The Birds' are also fine albums. However, I didn't like their first two albums at all - and their latest one didn't excite me either.

It's been a while since we've had a good ol' Frames-war on this board ;D

I actually did see this when it came out in the spring. I think that you will find it pretty good, so long as your movie tastes extend anywhere beyond the standard Hollywood pap. To be fair, Hansard is mostly understated in the movie, so those of you who like to take a pop at him should not be put off by this.

As well as doing well at various festivals, I think that it also managed to receive a whole lot of quirky publicity from some American statistical measurement that compares ticket revenues to film costs. For a while back there, it was coming top on that scale and seemed to get a decent bit of attention because of this. Not that I am wishing to sound like some stereotypical begrudging Paddy. Its so hard for any non-mainstream movie to get a bit of notice, then fair play if this is something that did help them get a bit of above-average attention.

Damien Rice is rubbish!

Oops, sorry, wrong argument, carry on..

I read an article in the Sunday Tribune that it was made for €200k & it has already grossed €10m.
Does this profit mostly go to RTE as they bought it?

Let's not forget a 5 star review in this weekend's English Sunday Times...

That's an excellent review, especially from Cosmo who never gets carried away with the hype surrounding a film and always tells it like it is. It gives you a great sense of what the film is about and makes you want to see it, even if he's quite unflattering about Hansard's looks!!! Jonathan Ross gave it a mixed review on Film 2007, he liked its originality but found the central relationship unconvincing and Marketa seemed 'ill at ease' in front of the camera. Really intrigued to see this film now.

I saw it about a month ago. I found in underwhelming. Hansard is very wide-eyed and innocent for a man of his age (and situation in the movie). Marketa is just delightful in my opinion. The lines are sometimes spat out in too much of a hurry. The scenes in her flat in Dublin with her family were really affecting, I thought. And the unconventional nature of the plot and its conclusion increased its worth. But I found that I was not emotionally involved. I never felt that there were reciprocal emotions. Still definitely worth viewing in my opinion. 6 out of 10

i am not fussed about seeing it... i have in the past been quite a big frames fan... 'for the birds' for me is a fantastic album... but as i've lost interest with their music (burn the maps and especially the cost), i've found myself willing them to get the commercial success that they've craved and let's be honest, deserve...

...so i'm delighted for them... don't think the film would set me alight though so it's not at the top of my list...

i want to see if jools holland picks them up for 'later...'

I've just seen it for the first time (and blogged about the experience too!): it was nice. Glen Hansard was good, credible in the confused-lovelorn-guy role. But Marketa's character was a bit flat in terms of dialogue and emotional depth (though she did well in the role). And the songs are just Glen-by-numbers and aren't as good as the best Frames stuff (for me, that means 'Dance The Devil' and 'For The Birds').

IMO the film is successful outside Ireland because of the romanticised portrayal of a street busker and an immigrant to Ireland (no racism or work problems!) which people in Ireland perhaps don't find credible. Oh, and no one knows The Frames

i was at the jason molina gig on friday... he and glen hansard were/are good friends.... near the end of the gig he says 'where's glen these days?'.... all he got was a 'glen who?' from someone who knew fine well and a few derisory snorts... he continued on to say that glen used to sleep on his floor in chicago and he loved the guy...

...i kinda hated everyone at the gig at that moment... i hate all the haters... do you know the man?... i don't....

the petty-minded view of people is sickening... where is the love?

Ginger lovin' was made illegal in the late 70's.

Finally seen this film at last, rented it over Christmas and what a revelation it is. I've never been a huge fan of The Frames or Glen Hansard but 'Once' blew me away and Glen is bearable in this. They can't act but I think that's makes it more human and believable and why it works so well. Glen is very understated and likeable as is Marketa (although her English is heavily accented so it's hard to make out what she is saying at times). It's a great little movie that has huge emotional impact at the end. AS for the music if you don't like the Frames, it's still watchable. There is no screeching violin here and Glen's histrionics are kept to minimum by Marketa... There's also a great scene featuring Fergus O'Farrell of Interference singing with Glen at a house party. Put aside your Frames/Glen prejudices and check it out.

The recorded version is glorious - A real lump in the throat job. Delighted for him.