Watching "Once" is like sitting in on a jam session. It's mellow and relaxed. It doesn't amount to much, but it's pleasant enough.

The director has said that he set out to make a movie so simple that the story could be summarized on the back of a postage stamp, and he's succeeded. An Irish busker meets a Czech émigré, and both flit around the edges of falling for each other while recording a demo album of the busker's music. Both are struggling with the loves in their lives, he with a girlfriend in London, she with her estranged husband and father to her little girl. The resolution of their stories, what resolution there is, felt right and realistic. This isn't a fairy tale, but neither is it Shakespearean tragedy. Life simply goes on.

The film's biggest asset is its music, and indeed most of the songs in the film we see performed in their entirety. The movie isn't exactly a musical in the strictest sense of the word, since characters don't spontaneously burst into choreographed musical numbers, but like the best musicals, the songs in "Once" illuminate the characters and play an integral role in the storytelling.

A low-key little gem of a movie.

Grade: A

Glen Hansard plays an unnamed street performer in Dublin. Markéta Irglová plays an unnamed Czech immigrant flower girl who takes an interest in him on a lonely night. He's getting over a girl. She's fascinated with him and soon they're making beautiful music together.

There is something magical about discovering two unknowns (Hansard is known in his country) in a sweet under-written romance. It never pushes hard. Markéta is utterly sweet. The romance is hesitant. The music is beautiful. In a world of big bombastic high budget Broadway style musicals, this indie musical has more heart than most of them could hope for.

ONCE is a great little film about two characters who may or may not be falling in love on the streets of Dublin, and a film that deservedly won an Oscar for its music. Most of the feelings and emotions are explored through the music here, giving this film a novel and fresh feel.

I don't really watch romantic films and I actively despise the romantic comedy genre, but I can confirm that this is a low-key and touching little movie that successfully avoids the pitfalls of its genre. I particularly liked the raw, naturalistic feel of the production, and the fact that the two main actors aren't actually actors (they're musicians instead) makes it even more remarkable.

Really, though, ONCE is a film that's all about the music and director John Carney is happy to stand back and let the tunes take centre stage. Everything, from the storyline to the style, takes second place to the music, and while few of the songs are as good as the one that won the Oscar, the way that the subject matter is handled and celebrated with undeniable enthusiasm means that this is a film that you can really get behind and enjoy.