It is a very rare thing when I enjoy watching a love story. Maybe it is because I am more of a realist or maybe it is because love stories nowadays tend to have more to do with sex than with love. Who knows. But I did see a movie yesterday that I have to say was one of the best movies I have ever had the pleasure to watch.
A couple of months ago, I saw this video on VH1...
My ears perked up at the song. It is very simple yet so beautiful. The video reminded me of a promo for a movie but I did not know who these people were or what movie it could be from. Then, yesterday, I discovered what movie it was while we were deciding which Saturday movie to go to. Here is a sample of what we had to choose from...
A video game...Resident Evil: Extinction
A chick flick...The Jane Austin Book Club
Propaganda...In the Valley of Elah
The Heartbreak Kid...The previews to this movie alone made me not want to pay money to see it.
Good Luck Chuck...Dane Cook plays Chuck. That says it all. Ick.
Mr. Woodcock...The title says it all.
We looked up what was playing at the new Funhouse Theater. Well, maybe "new" doesn't describe it but "recently reopened". It used to be the dollar theater and it used to be the grossest, dirtiest movie theater you had ever seen. I was always afraid of walking away with a communicable disease after watching a movie there. They catered more to little kids. It still does cater to small fry with two-dollar movies such as "Shrek 3" and "Harry Potter" but there was one movie listed that wasn't for the little ones.
"Well" my husband said. "We have two choices at the Funhouse...'Transformers' or a love story called 'Once'." He said this knowing full well that I would choose "Transformers" over a love story. Still he continued on, "This movie, "Once", is a foreign movie and it got some really good reviews."
Great, some foreign movie with some beautiful foreign woman who is half naked throughout the entire movie. Or totally naked. Who knows. But when I checked it out on the IMDB I discovered that it was the movie that accompanies the enigmatic music video. So we decided to check it out.
I hadn't been to the Funhouse Theater for many years. I was very surprised to find it in good shape and clean. I was no longer afraid of what I could catch from the seats. "Once" was the "art movie" and cost five dollars a ticket instead of two but for a matinee it still is was cheaper than the Carmike monopoly we have here.
It was confusing to find which individual screening room was showing which movie because the names of the movies were not posted outside of the each screening room. Instead, each room had a name like "Lynn's House" or "Ed's House" to distinguish them. Our movie was playing in "Lynn's House", so we entered and sat down.
There were only about 15 people in the theater and over half of them were children. I was a little concerned because this was an R rated movie but I can't help what people take their children to. A foreign love story would be a mite boring for a little kid but maybe the parents were really adamant about seeing it. About five minutes before the movie was about to start, a little girl came in and announced that this wasn't "Shrek 3" and all the kids and parents promptly got up and left. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Once" was made in Ireland and I was a little concerned at first because I have a heck of a time trying to translate any sort of Irish or British accents into Montanan accents. I really need subtitles. But it wasn't that difficult once we got interested in the movie because it draws you in and you understand what is going on even if you can't understand what they are saying. There is even a part where the girl speaks a sentence in Czech but I knew exactly what she said. Without giving away too much of the movie, here are some other things I enjoyed about it.
**Music is a vital part of the entire movie. It is almost like another character.
**The girl is beautiful and does not have to take off her clothes or act like a slut to be beautiful.
**There is no uncomfortable sex scene at all. In fact, the characters never even kiss but yet, it is one of the most powerful love stories I have seen.
**The guy treats the girl with respect. Unlike the premise of "The Heartbreak Kid" where the husband has an affair on his honeymoon because he can't stand the girl he married.
I highly recommend seeing this movie. It would be great if Hollywood took a few pointers from it. But then again, they are busy with the election and the war and all to make a truly good movie.
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