Once - A Musical Journey

I had heard the soundtrack of Once long back and loved it. The movie looked good too but I never watched it until today. In between I had heard and read so much about it that expectations were fairly high. And I wasn't disappointed! Being an ardent music lover, I fancy musicals so it was half the battle won. Plus I like the Brit/Irish accent :) However, Once stands out for its simplicity, modesty and earnest performances.

The movie is set in Dublin. Interestingly both the protagonists are not given names. The guy (Glen Hansard) is a street musician who plays the guitar and sings for money at night. During the day, he works in his father’s vacuum cleaner shop. His music attracts a young Czech girl (Marketa Irglova) who herself is a classically trained pianist. She takes him to a piano shop where she often goes to play the piano as she does not own one. It is here that they play a beautiful duet “Falling Slowly” (for which they both received an Academy Award for Best Original Song) and blossoms their short but delightful musical escapade.

The bond over music and he confides about his ex-girlfriend for whom he had been writing songs. She stays in old London and had betrayed him long back. However he is still in love with her, misses her but does not want to go get her. We also learn that the girl sells flowers and cleans a house for a living. She lives with her mother and little daughter Ivonka. Her husband is back in Czech Republic and things are not right between them. The marriage part comes as a surprise for him as he clearly did not expect that. However that doesn't change things between them.

The movie is not ambitious. Their love story is simple and beautiful. Music develops the plot further and all the songs are so beautiful. It helps that all of them were recorded by Glen and Marketa themselves. Neither of them are trained actors but musicians. Maybe that’s why their performances are so realistic. Plus it was during the filming of the movie that the two fell in love. This chemistry is visible on-screen as well. The bitter-sweet ending is realistic. It leaves you touched and happy that you witnessed this musical journey. 

Once is simple and straightforward. It was made on a shoestring budget and shot in merely 17 days with two new actors. And what a swell job done! It is magical and one you bound to get swayed. Once is one of the best musicals I have seen. Highly recommended, especially if you are a music lover :)

P.S. The movie has also motivated me to get going with my guitar practice, which has been moving at a snail's pace recently! :)

My Must Do List

All of us invariably have a list of things that we want to do. Unfortunately as we grow up, we get so entangled in the web of life that we hardly have time for anything. We start leading a mundane life and all our interests/desires take a backseat. We attribute it to lack of time and then the must-do list becomes a wish list. Something like that was happening with me. However I am glad I did not get trapped in it. I have lost out on time and some opportunities, but never mind. I will not let those desires be only desires. I will try and fulfill as many of them as possible. So here goes my list; not a WISH-LIST but a TO-DO List :)

1.  Learn a Foreign Language, preferably French – I think most of us have this desire to learn a foreign language. But how many of us do it? Several of them do enroll for a one year course, but is a year sufficient to have a command over a language? I don't think so. Anyway, I missed out a great opportunity that had come knocking my way. My college, Hans Raj, offered a foreign language course in French and German. I remember getting the form and filling it. However, since the timing for the course was in the afternoon from 3 to 5, friends suggested that it was an odd time and I would be missing out on a lot of fun. Actually we were new to Delhi and the first thing that was there on our minds was to explore the city, roam about, and have fun. So when one of them changed her mind, the other did the same and eventually following the herd mentality I too dropped the idea. Oh how I wish I had made the right decision at that time! Anyway, there is no point regretting. As they say, there is no age for learning. Perhaps I will sometime :)

2.  Play a musical instrument with panache – I have an intense passion for music and a deep fascination for musical instruments. Music, in fact, has such an overwhelming effect on me that I sometimes wonder if I were a musician in my previous birth or had some kind of connection with it. Anyway, I like many instruments but the GUITAR has always lured me the most. I wanted to learn how to play it. And I am so glad that I have finally started with the classes. I could have done this long time back had it not been for my habit of procrastination but the good thing is that I have begun. So far, so good. The teacher also seems to be nice. His fingers move so effortlessly, I just love to watch him play! Someday I too want to be play like him.

3. Travel – Travel is like an investment in oneself; it transforms and changes us. There is so much to learn from travelling. I want to travel around and be amidst the lap of Nature, exploring, indulging and discovering the self. I would love to go to Europe, but there are so many places in India itself that I long to visit – Kerela, Mumbai, Ladakh, Shimla and the entire north-eastern belt. Being in Bengal for so long, I am yet to visit Gangtok. It can’t get worse. Moreover I keep talking about it but do anything. It’s time to stop talking and act! I am seriously going to start in August. Fingers crossed for this one.

4.   Photography – Photography has captured my attention for quite some time now. And there are no barriers except that I need to get a camera. I don’t want to buy any ordinary camera and yet it would not be a very good idea to invest a lot either, because knowing me my interest might just wane once I am in possession of it. Things look attractive only till the time they elude you. At least this happens with me a lot. So I want to start with something in the mid range and I am saving for it. Once I buy one, the escapade will kick start. Only hoping it is not too late!

5.  Write – I want to write more. I want to move on from narrative accounts to some serious writing. Nicky wrote a post on The Existential Dilemma. I was writing a comment and then realized it was turning more into a post itself. Maybe I can begin with that itself. Existentialism and it’s variants of any kind have always enthralled me. So it would be a good topic I suppose :P

This is not all. This is definitely not an exhaustive list. There must be some other things that can make this list, but this is all that I am reminded of currently. I, however, do not want to wait in the hope of remembering some more and extending this list. There can always be an addition later.