Great Movie Scenes: Once Shows Us Characters “Falling Slowly” In Love

Since today is Valentine’s Day, it seems right to focus on what is arguably the most romantic film of the past decade, Once. A stunning naturalistic musical, the film chronicles the relationship that develops between a struggling Dublin street busker/vacuum cleaner repairman (Glen Hansard) and a poor Czech immigrant/single mother (Markéta Irglová). Drawn together by their shared love of music, they begin writing and recording songs together─impacting each others’ lives in profound ways in the process. Early on in the film comes a scene that foreshadows the love the nameless characters would experience (both on screen and in real-life, as Hansard and Irglová dated for a while after the movie’s success). “Falling Slowly” is a powerful song that became so beloved by audiences that it won the Best Original Song Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards:

After the movie became an art house hit, Once was reborn as a successful Broadway musical, and while the show may have closed on the Great White Way, it still is impacting audiences across the globe in regional productions. Here’s a performance of “Falling Slowly” from original Broadway cast members Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti.

The song has transcended its motion picture roots to become a cultural touchstone, and to think, it all began in a Dublin music shop in a low budget film over a decade ago. Here’s hoping that the song continues to enchant audiences for ages to come. It is a true contemporary classic.

This article originally ran on MovieFanFare last year, we are reprinting it today as part of our Valentine’s Day celebrations