The storyline of Once is bittersweet and eloquent. It starts out as a small-scale romance, like before sunrise, before arriving somewhere unexpected. An Irish busker who has put his emotional life on cold storage because of a broken heart meets a Czech flower seller who helps him open himself back up to life while singing on the streets of Dublin. This is one of those rare movies that define any neat classification. It isn’t a traditional love story by any stretch. Though it is filled with music from beginning to end it isn’t really a musical. And the film is filled with wonderful little moments, like the first meeting. Or the marvelous extended shot that follows the girl from a convenience store where she has bought batteries for a CD player down the street for a few blocks as she sings the lyrics she has written for a song the guy has written the music for. This truly is a very special film. It does not have the greatest production values, indeed, it feels like the low budget that it is. This is one of those films. It touched me on so many different levels and evoked so many different emotions and thoughts. I will watch this movie, listen to its soundtrack, repeatedly, and never tire of it, because it’s just that good.