HOW OFTEN DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT PERSON?

A Dublin busker (Glen Hansard) meets a Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová); as they realize that they could be making very good music together, and maybe even record the songs in a studio, there’s also the chance of a blossoming romance. A movie that comes straight out of the heart of director John Carney who based much of the story on his real life. Shot with video cameras on the streets of Dublin, there is an obvious concern to make the film look as genuine as possible. Most of the songs are in fact written by the two leads who are not professional actors. Those ingredients make the achievement of this simple but charming movie all the more remarkable.

2007-Ireland. 86 min. Color. Produced by Martina Niland. Written and directed by John Carney. Songs: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová (“Falling Slowly”). Cast: Glen Hansard (The Guy), Markéta Irglová (The Girl).

Trivia: Carney and Hansard are old members of the band The Frames. Later a Broadway musical.

Oscar: Best Original Song.

Last word: “Glen had a piano at the house, and at some point John asked if I would go to the piano and play something for him. I sang a song and played a piece from one of my favorite movies, called ‘The Double Life of Veronique’, and then Glen and I had a concert. [Carney] was like, ‘OK, well this is as good of a place to audition as any.’ At the end of the party, John was like, ‘I think you’re the girl!’ and I was like ‘What?’ I don’t think I would have gone to a proper audition. I would have been totally too intimidated to go into a room where there’s a movie producer and a director and a casting agent and I had to read some lines from a script.” (Irglová, Consequence of Sound)

IMDb