Read this review here or at the new Scene-Stealers 2.0!!*”Once” is an unscrubbed little gem of a film that gets its title from the fleeting beauty of moments. There are things in your life that will only happen once, and that sense of discovery you get when you meet someone special for the first time is more than enough to hang an entire movie on. What makes “Once” so special is that it captures that feeling and puts it to song.Though not a traditional musical by any means, the film’s touching poignancy arrives during its musical segments, which eminate organically from the story of an Irish guy (Glen Hansard) and a Czech immigrant girl (Marketa Irglova) whose names we never learn. A vacuum cleaner repairman who is also a street musician on lunch breaks and at night, the guy is approached by the unusually direct girl who wants to know who his songs are about. What starts out as mild annoyance soon turns into romantic interest, and the lonely busker clumsily invites her to spend the night after their second day together in a scene that is as heartbreaking as it is honest.!Director John Carney (a former bandmate of Hansard’s in popular Irish act The Frames) filmed the entire movie in 17 days on high definition digital video, so it has a gritty, well-worn kind of feeling that serves as a counterpoint to the raw emotion of Hansard’s songs. When he discovers the girl is a pianist, the lovelorn couple begin a creative collaboration together, and it is in these scenes that “Once” hits its highest notes.Most movies are afraid to dramatize a creative process, but the romance of “Once” thrives on it. The music is able to elucidate all the bottled-up feelings of its characters, and the lyrics are like narration. The first time Hansard and Irglova sing together, it’s as thrilling as any first kiss. Casting musicians rather than actors proves to be a wise choice, because their interplay is completely naturalistic. All of the musical interaction is authentic and, by extention, so is their entire relationship.There is a quick scene in the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line” that is supposed to explain how June Carter Cash came to write “Ring of Fire.” Though Reese Witherspoon sang just fine in the role (even receiveing an Oscar for it), she is still an actress playing a musician, and it seemed like disingenuous shorthand to drop in a short scene of her sitting in a car alone going over the lyrics to “Ring of Fire”- especially since Carter didn’t even write it by herself.Carney avoids all distractions like this because musical ability is inherent to his characters. The guy and girl in “Once” communicate more easily through music. Playing the guitar or the piano comes as naturally as saying hello or goodbye. The movie’s bittersweet songs, all about falling in and out of love, were actually written by the actors. Although they occur naturally within the framework of the story, they also drive the action forward themselves. Without the music, there is no story.!Music can get away with simple feelings and sweeping emotions easier than dialogue, and the beauty of a melody can carry those sentiments with more confidence. “Once” relies on this, bringing the characters’ simmering feelings to the surface in its best, heart-swelling moments. The film’s low budget sometimes gets in the way, as when a long take will include a blurry bit or suffer through some bad lighting. There is also a an ill-advised, cheesy montage set on a beach that seems out of place in a film that had relied very little on cliches up to that point. But for the most part, “Once” remains a charming and melancholy glimpse into one very important week in two people’s lives.The girl and guy of “Once” have both been recently damaged by relationships gone bad. Though circumstances conspire to keep them apart, they find a common ground in music. You can never meet someone for the first time again, just as a song can only be written once. By daring to actually depict the creative process of musical collaboration and songwriting, Carney has allowed a look inside the souls of two people.