The film ONCE was shot entirely in and around the Irish capital Dublin. It tells the story of a street musician (Glen Hansard) who meets a Czech pianist (Markéta Irglová). While making music together they gradually develop feelings for each other. In the credits, they are simply called Guy and Girl.
 |
| Library Square, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
Warning: the text may give away details of the plot. Written and directed by John Carney, filming took place over 17 days in January 2006. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, also musicians in real life, composed and performed all the original songs themselves. They won several awards, including an Oscar for Best Original Song for ‘Falling slowly’. In the film, they play this song in the no longer existing music shop Walton's World of Music.
For this blog post, I used the website
Almost Ginger which has a comprehensive list of all venues. We visited five locations that are within walking distance of each other in the city centre of Dublin.
In the opening scene, Guy stands in front of Dunnes Stores at 62 Grafton Street and plays ‘And the healing has begun’ by Van Morrison. A young man (Darren Healy) approaches him. The store can still be found here. Grafton Street has a
website that includes portraits of street musicians. Glen Hansard has performed here himself.
 |
| Once, 0:01:11 |
 |
| 62 Grafton Street, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
When the young man steals his money, Guy goes after him and manages to track him down in St Stephen's Green Park. The man turns out to be a drug addict and apologises. In the background is the Fusiliers' Arch, erected in 1907 to commemorate the members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who fought and died during the Second Boer War (1899-1902).
 |
| Once, 0:02:41 |
 |
| St Stephen's Green Park, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
In the evening, Guy plays again on Grafton Street. The shop at number 60 was at the time of filming a branch of Laura Ashley, now a Disney Store.
 |
| Once, 0:04:18 |
 |
| Grafton Street, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
Guy meets Girl and tells her that he repairs hoovers to make a living. The next day, she brings him her broken hoover. They walk through George's Street Arcade and cross Drury Street. This shopping centre also has its own website.
 |
| Once, 0:12:00 |
 |
| George's Street Arcade, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
Having obtained a loan to record a demo of their own songs, Guy and Girl go in search of musicians. Next to the statue of Phil Lynott in Harry Street, they see three men playing. Phil Lynott (1949-1986) is best known for his band Thin Lizzy. The bronze statue, made by sculptor Paul Daly, was unveiled in 2005. It has since been moved a quarter turn. Visitors often leave a plectrum between the strings and the earring has been stolen a few times.
 |
| Once, 0:46:23 |
 |
| Standbeeld Phil Lynott, Harry Street, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
 |
| Once, 0:46:27 |
 |
Harry Street, Dublin, 3 July 2024
|
After picking up the CDs with their songs, Guy and Girl walk on Temple Bar Square. Since the completion of the film the square, best known for its lively nightlife, has been repaved. It was difficult to take a photo here because of the many people and parked cars.
 |
| Once, 1:13:54 |
 |
| Temple Bar Square, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
In the fourteenth episode of season 20 of the animated series
THE SIMPSONS, ‘In the Name of the Grandfather’, the Simpsons go to Ireland. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series, the episode was first broadcast on 17 March 2009 on British channel Sky One. Not coincidentally, this date coincided with St Patrick's Day, Ireland's national holiday.
 |
| The Simpsons, season 20, episode 14, 0:13:14 |
Grandpa Simpson, Homer's father, has fond memories of O'Flanagan's, a pub in the fictional town of Dunkilderry where he once stayed as a young man. When grandpa and Homer go for a beer at the pub, Marge decides to explore Ireland with Bart and Lisa. They successively visit Giant's Causeway (a rock formation in Northern Ireland), the Guinness brewery in Dublin and Blarney Castle. Incidentally, these landmarks are not close to each other.
In Dublin, Guy is once again set to sing in front of 62 Grafton Street but Girl is no longer interested in him. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová voiced their animated characters themselves.
 |
| The Simpsons, season 20, episode 14, 0:15:45 |
 |
| Grafton Street, Dublin, 3 July 2024 |
Screenshots Once © Samson Films Ltd./Summit Entertainment N.V.
Screenshots The Simpsons © Gracie Films
No comments:
Post a Comment