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so what's it like being only 3 feet tall?
R
Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
Girl: F*** you, batteries!
“Guy” meets “Girl” (yes, they’re never named) while performing his songs on the street. They bond over music and vacuum cleaners and eventually help each other get their lives back on track.
It’s a simple little movie, really, but it’s one I can watch over and over again. Though, I do usually skip past that one sequence where Marketa walks and sings forever. I get that it shows how far she was willing to walk at night to get batteries so she could keep listening to the music and writing lyrics, but it’s not that great a song, and it just goes on and on.
That song aside, the music is good and the acting performances are very natural. It almost feels like you’re watching a documentary at times. I think that was intentional, as the director would put mics on the actors, then film them from far away so they could just interact with each other on the street as random people walked by. It results in very natural sounding conversation rather than scripted movie dialogue. Neither Irglova or Hansard were actors before this, but they both did a good job as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t think I’d classify this as a romance or a love story (hope that’s not a spoiler!), but rather a story about how two people can meet at just the right time to help each other out. They both needed a little push in the right direction. The guy broke up with his unfaithful girlfriend and she moved to London. He still loves her, but he’s too hurt and prideful to go get her back. Meanwhile, the girl left her husband and moved to Ireland, but as we can tell from one of her songs, she misses him.
It’s a simple movie, but the relationships involved are not simple at all. It seems like in another situation, these two people would be perfect for each other, even if he is almost twice as old as her. In a way, they are perfect for each other. Just not a romantic way.
Good music (it won an Oscar!), good acting, and a nice story. Definitely makes it worth seeing, at least…once.
Hmm…well, how about: you never know what effect you can have on somebody’s life, even if you only know them for a short amount of time.
10 – 1 for a couple lulls here and there, particularly that one long walking song I mentioned = 9.0
The Robot Who Likes Pretty Things 
I enjoyed this one quite a bit myself. I think Chrystal was a little disappointed at the ending, but I liked it. ‘Falling Slowly’ has become Emily’s favorite song. I was watching Late Night a few weeks ago and Jimmy Fallon had Glen Hansard on to sing one of my favorite R.E.M. songs, ‘Hairshirt’… good stuff.
huh…so you’re saying that there are actually people who watch jimmy fallon, eh? :-p
i liked the ending too. kinda sad, but hopeful as well.
Fantastic movie. Great music. Love that “Fuck her! Fuck her!’ song he sings on the bus about the girl who cheated on him. Good review, man.
Charming movie; extraordinary music, including “If You Want Me,” the song Marketa sang as she walked through the streets of Dublin. I have traveled great distances to attend two of their concerts.
i’d very much like to see them play in person as well.
I just watched this a while ago and loooved it! I’m glad you enjoyed it as well 🙂
like Aiden R, my love of the bus song is well documented
This is one of the few movies that was even better than its soundtrack.
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