The Frames are coming to New Zealand as the opening act for Bob Dylan. With a strong musical reputation, they promise a good live show, having been voted Ireland’s number one live band. However, they are also doing their bit to publicise the Irish film industry as well. Lead actor of Once, Glen Hansard is also the lead singer of the Frames, while the film is written and directed by John Carney, formerly a member of the group.

Hansard is no newcomer to acting (he was the guitarist Outspan Foster in The Commitments). However he showed excellent acting chops in this film, all expressive eye work, blank face, and convincing realism. The real star is Markéta Irglová as the girl (none of the characters have names). Her character is an absolute ripper – sexy, vulnerable, confident, shy, moving, funny – basically, it was no problem to see why “the guy” was after her. A particularly endearing moment involves a vacuum cleaner in public.

Basically this film appears to be a love story. Lonely boy meets lonely girl, but as things always seem to be, they’re a lot more complicated than that. You never really know the girl’s motives, so you never really know where she stands (though find a translation of that line she says on the cliff on the Internet or quickly learn Czech, as this adds an extra level). What unites the two is the music – this is a rather unconventional musical. It’s part kitchen-sink, part escapism (a kind of Dancer in the Dark without the mindcrushing depression of that film). The music is strictly diegetic, but also seems to allow for the characters to transcend their settings – the intensity of the musical performances, the emotions involved manage to elevate the music from the realist surroundings. A particularly brilliant song moment was the girl’s trip to get batteries.

At times, the music can be slightly too overbearing. There could have been more actual character interactions (or more of a sense of what they were escaping from) but that might be more from the fact I had a total crush on the girl. The directing was a bit standard – and perhaps could have been a bit more stylistically adventurous. However, there were some lovely shots (especially when big crowds were incorporated in). But it was the music and the performances which stand out – this is a wee crowd-pleaser, and Irglová’s performance was one of the most engaging and sweetest I’ve seen in years.—Brannavan Gnanalingam