Offical website
Blu-rays, DVDs & more
eBay affliate link
Art of the Movies
Buy posters on MoviePoster.com
IMDb
Once movie stills
Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: I can't imagine anyone seeing Once and not instantly falling in love with it. Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Musicals ask us to take a happy leap of faith, to believe in a world in which people express their feelings by bursting into song. With Once, Carney has created that world within our own, and it weaves an irresistible spell. Read more
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: For reasons they'll have to go to hell for someday, the Motion Picture Association of America ratings board gave Once an R, for a handful of swear words. Ignore that. And enjoy the film. Read more
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The songs don't advance the narrative lyrically so much as follow the two characters' uncertain relationship through the slow realization of their themes; in particular a scene in which they first jam together in the back room of a music store is a gem. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: It takes all of 10 seconds for John Carney's Once to announce itself as something special. Read more
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Imagine Belle And Sebastian remaking In The Mood For Love as a heartbreaking low-fi musical, and you have a fair approximation of the film's melancholy, unexpected genius. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: In its brief running time, writer-director John Carney does something both profound and unexpected: He reinvents the movie musical as a genre of swooning rock 'n' roll realism. Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Are you looking for a little film you can make your own, an enchanting, unpretentious blend of music and romance you can watch forever? If you do, Once is about to come into your life and make it whole. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The film drags a bit and Irglova's inexperience as an actor sometimes leaves her costars in the lurch. But it's a sweet little film just the same. Read more
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: One of the movie's pleasures is that it keeps us asking what sort of love story will Once become? Read more
Tom Long, Detroit News: A sweet, raw blessing of a film. Read more
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The movie swoons, and you will too. Read more
Mark Bourne, Film.com: Once doesn't plop its emotions on its characters' sleeves, and it trusts us enough to leave some of the best stuff unstated. In other words, it trusts us to know that half the music lies between the notes. Read more
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: The most naturalistic and believable romantic musical you may ever see and hear. Read more
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Stripped of just about all artifice and dazzle, shot on the cheap on city streets, this Sundance gem is wiser about artistic creation and the fickle ways of love than any song-and-dance spectacular you've recently encountered. Read more
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Once is one of those urban fairy tales you come out of not wanting to switch on your car radio, make small talk or do anything but shelter in its beguiling ambiance for as long as you can to avoid re-entering the real world. Read more
Gene Seymour, Newsday: No matter what your musical tastes, Once will reinforce your belief in the power of melody and harmony to heal one's inner wounds. Read more
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: Elegantly capturing the alchemy of songwriting -- not to mention the alchemy of fleeting romance -- it's a one-of-a-kind movie to enthrall musicians and listeners alike. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Once isn't especially complex, but the chemistry between its appealing leads feels deeply true. You'd have to look awfully hard to find such sincerity in a Hollywood romance. Read more
Kyle Smith, New York Post: So heartfelt and sparse, so quietly genuine with its dingy digital images -- so not Rent. Read more
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Don't miss Once. It has to be seen and heard to be believed and enjoyed. Read more
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: This lovely tale of a love affair between a Dublin street musician and a flower girl will leave you wistful for more. It's a movie to fall in love with and a movie to fall in love during. It is the most naturalistic musical ever. Read more
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Told with the simplicity of a Chaplin film (more than once I was reminded of City Lights), Once has the tentative and unpredictable amble of a chance encounter rather than the absolute and overdetermined structure of a Hollywood film. Read more
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Forget everything you think you know about the movie musical, one of the more predictable genres. With Once, writer-director John Carney deconstructs it and reinvents it as something wholly new, inspired and alive. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It deserves to be seen and offers more real human emotion than most of the year's would be box office busters. Read more
Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times: [A] wonderful film that is one of the year's best. Read more
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Once proves once and for all that imagination trumps big bucks. Read more
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Sweet but never cloying, simple without being simplistic, delicate yet not at all precious, this is a film guaranteed to set your toes to tapping even as it plays a number on your heartstrings. Read more
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: This indie musical is a bijou of a film that joins unaffected performances and a compelling soundtrack in a low-budget, documentary-style film that lets us watch two people fall in love to the mesmerizing soundtrack of the songs they create. Read more
Stephen Garrett, Time Out: The real dialogue is the music, as the lovers communicate through lyrics. The filmmaking is unadorned, but the emotional virtuosity is rhapsodic. Read more
Christopher Orr, The New Republic: In an era when Hollywood has largely lost the ability to distinguish between romance and sex, Once is the rare film that recognizes that love is no less love for being held in check, it is merely a different kind of love. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: Once is a winning and engaging portrait of two people's powerful connection through music. Read more
Dennis Harvey, Variety: Pic's charm seems so offhand one might not notice the skill with which helmer John Carney pulls it off, or how it plays like a full-blown musical without anyone bursting into song. Read more
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice: The magic of the movie is how utterly wrenching it renders [its] songs, which thrive alongside the film's simple, eloquent, dusky narrative. Read more
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Even the uninitiated will be hard-pressed to resist the movie's charms, from its likable leading players and its charming Dublin setting to its wistful take on modern love. Read more